Arne Slot insisted the "future looks bright for Liverpool", despite the Reds enduring a disappointing defence of their Premier League title.

Liverpool surged to Premier League glory last season, sealing their record-equalling 20th top-flight crown with four games remaining.

However, despite spending over £400m on boosting his squad, the Reds have failed to match those exploits this season, sitting in sixth place after suffering nine league defeats.

Nevertheless, with his side in the FA Cup quarter-finals and Champions League round of 16, Slot is adamant there is plenty for Liverpool to be optimistic about.

"We know how difficult it is to achieve what we achieved last season," he said. "We played the League Cup final, we were very, very, very close to beating Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16 round [of the Champions League].

"This season, I think it's safe to say and fair to say that this season has been much more of a struggle than last season. But still, we are able to win things, quarter-finals of the FA Cup and in the last 16 in Europe.

"And I think we've got a squad that has shown this season already that we've improved. And these players will be able to improve much more in the upcoming years.

"So, as I said many times, the future looks bright for Liverpool. I'm 100 per cent sure that the best is still to come because there's individual progress to be made, and it's already happening."

Nevertheless, the Liverpool boss acknowledged his side must improve their consistency levels.

The Reds were beaten by bottom-side Wolves last time out in the Premier League, and are seeking a response against struggling Tottenham on Sunday.

"We haven't been as consistent as we wanted to be," he added. "But if you look at the last two months, I think there are more positives in terms of results than negatives.

"The one that stands out for me in a negative way is our loss against Wolves two weeks ago, but we've also won quite a lot of games recently. And that tells you the improvement of the team and of the individuals.

"The more and the longer they play together, that's been shown all over the world, successful teams usually play long together. And that's what we're going to try to achieve with these players as well."