Aaron Briggs was dismissed as Liverpool set-piece coach in December 2025
Aaron Briggs has broken his silence on his sacking as Liverpoolâs set-piece coach last December. He had initially joined the Reds as first team individual development coach in the summer of 2024, but was soon tasked with responsibility of the clubâs set-pieces due to his analyst background.
After helping Liverpool win the Premier League, Briggs was named set-piece coach on a full-time basis last summer. But he would last just half a season in the position, with the Reds holding the worst set-piece record in Europeâs top five leagues at the time of his dismissal.
Slot, who had been publicly critical of Liverpoolâs set-piece record prior to Briggsâ exit, took on responsibility for the Redsâ dead balls along with the rest of his backroom team for the remainder of the season.
And while Liverpoolâs record did improve, it was not enough to greatly enhance their overall performances on the pitch as they scraped Champions League qualification by finishing fifth. Following an end-of-season review, Slot too would lose his job.
Briggs, who now works for UEFA in its game insights department, holds no ill-feeling towards Slot and spoke to the Dutchman following his own Anfield exit earlier this summer.
But he has shared his frustration at how last season ultimately unfolded with the Reds unable to reverse their set-piece rot despite his best efforts prior to his dismissal.
âFootball is very up and down, right? One minute you are winning the Premier League and the next you are looking for a new role somewhere,â he told the Athletic. âI had experience of being in the spotlight at Wolfsburg and Monaco as an assistant coach but the thing with set pieces is that itâs very, very measurable. Itâs black and white.
âAs an assistant, you try to help where you can, so I thought âWhy not?' (become the clubâs set-piece coach).
âI knew how much goes into it, as I had seen Nico Jover work at Manchester City day to day. You watch hours of the opposition, every single restart and set piece of your own team, the other team, then youâre watching others for ideas.
âAnalysts are doing unbelievable hours every week. You have to be so passionate about it, otherwise you canât do it. I knew it was going to consume my life, which it did.
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âI took on the role full-time and thought I could make a difference. I put my heart and soul into it, as many hours as humanely possible.
âThe club tried to help so it wasnât just me on my own. The analyst team were really helpful. We didnât just watch it go downhill. We had meetings and spoke with the players, the coaches.
âI was doing more research, looking at all the chances we conceded and how they happened. Am I putting the wrong players in the wrong places? Is it the setup that is wrong? But it was mostly second and third balls so it wasnât the setup at delivery.
âWe spoke to key players and Virgil (van Dijk) was one I spoke to heavily. He was getting frustrated. I was, the club were, the fans were. We tried to help each other. We tried everything to correct it.â
He continued: âIt hurt when we werenât performing as I was putting everything into and it wasnât going great. In hindsight, it didnât work out for the club or myself, but no regrets.
âI wish from the bottom of my heart it had gone better in that second year but everyone was trying so I didnât feel alone.
âThere wasnât a falling-out. Arne was really supportive and I spoke to him a few weeks ago. It was very amicable. The numbers were the numbers unfortunately and thatâs part of football.â
Aaron Briggs has broken his silence on his sacking as Liverpoolâs set-piece coach last December. He had initially joined the Reds as first team individual development coach in the summer of 2024, but was soon tasked with responsibility of the clubâs set-pieces due to his analyst background.
After helping Liverpool win the Premier League, Briggs was named set-piece coach on a full-time basis last summer. But he would last just half a season in the position, with the Reds holding the worst set-piece record in Europeâs top five leagues at the time of his dismissal.
Slot, who had been publicly critical of Liverpoolâs set-piece record prior to Briggsâ exit, took on responsibility for the Redsâ dead balls along with the rest of his backroom team for the remainder of the season.
And while Liverpoolâs record did improve, it was not enough to greatly enhance their overall performances on the pitch as they scraped Champions League qualification by finishing fifth. Following an end-of-season review, Slot too would lose his job.
Briggs, who now works for UEFA in its game insights department, holds no ill-feeling towards Slot and spoke to the Dutchman following his own Anfield exit earlier this summer.
But he has shared his frustration at how last season ultimately unfolded with the Reds unable to reverse their set-piece rot despite his best efforts prior to his dismissal.
âFootball is very up and down, right? One minute you are winning the Premier League and the next you are looking for a new role somewhere,â he told the Athletic. âI had experience of being in the spotlight at Wolfsburg and Monaco as an assistant coach but the thing with set pieces is that itâs very, very measurable. Itâs black and white.
âAs an assistant, you try to help where you can, so I thought âWhy not?' (become the clubâs set-piece coach).
âI knew how much goes into it, as I had seen Nico Jover work at Manchester City day to day. You watch hours of the opposition, every single restart and set piece of your own team, the other team, then youâre watching others for ideas.
âAnalysts are doing unbelievable hours every week. You have to be so passionate about it, otherwise you canât do it. I knew it was going to consume my life, which it did.
FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook page
âI took on the role full-time and thought I could make a difference. I put my heart and soul into it, as many hours as humanely possible.
âThe club tried to help so it wasnât just me on my own. The analyst team were really helpful. We didnât just watch it go downhill. We had meetings and spoke with the players, the coaches.
âI was doing more research, looking at all the chances we conceded and how they happened. Am I putting the wrong players in the wrong places? Is it the setup that is wrong? But it was mostly second and third balls so it wasnât the setup at delivery.
âWe spoke to key players and Virgil (van Dijk) was one I spoke to heavily. He was getting frustrated. I was, the club were, the fans were. We tried to help each other. We tried everything to correct it.â
He continued: âIt hurt when we werenât performing as I was putting everything into and it wasnât going great. In hindsight, it didnât work out for the club or myself, but no regrets.
âI wish from the bottom of my heart it had gone better in that second year but everyone was trying so I didnât feel alone.
âThere wasnât a falling-out. Arne was really supportive and I spoke to him a few weeks ago. It was very amicable. The numbers were the numbers unfortunately and thatâs part of football.â
