Arne Slot has opened up about the crucial change he felt compelled to make after taking over from Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. The Dutch tactician is on the brink of guiding the Reds to Premier League glory in his debut season at the helm.
With just a draw needed against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Sunday, Liverpool is poised to secure the title with four matches to spare. Its campaign has been nothing short of remarkable, suffering only one league defeat. Sitting comfortably at the top with a 12-point lead over Arsenal, who are in second place and with a game in hand, Liverpool’s dominance is clear for all to see.
Arsenal has lamented injuries as a key factor in their faltering title bid, but Liverpool too have had their fair share of injury setbacks, with key players like Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo, Joe Gomez, and Conor Bradley all missing significant chunks of the season.
Despite these challenges, Liverpool has not been thrown off course. Recognizing that injuries were a recurring issue during Klopp’s tenure, Slot pinpointed player availability as an area for improvement upon succeeding the German.
“We took a lot of what was already very good over here,” he explained. “We inherited a team that played for the past six, seven or eight years a major part in English football. The players had a lot of qualities.
“The only thing we had to do is make sure we got as many players available as we could every single time. Apart from that, we wanted to continue on the work Jurgen did and add a few things, but adding certain things is something we have to do next season again as well.
(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
“I think our competitors will try to become better next season again as well. That’s what they did in the last few seasons. That’s why they’re probably going to try next season as well, but it’s definitely what we’re going to try also.”
One area where Slot has faced some flak this season is Liverpool’s squad rotation or the perceived lack thereof. The Reds haven’t always been on form recently, having bowed out of the Champions League earlier than anticipated, suffered a League Cup final defeat against Newcastle United, and looked less than convincing at times in the Premier League title chase.
Despite a roster boasting the likes of Harvey Elliott, Wataru Endo, Federico Chiesa, and Darwin Nunez, the Dutch manager has remained firm about not utilizing his full squad more extensively. However, he’s hinted that there may be a refresh come summer, after initially opting to rely on the team he inherited.
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Slot shared insights with Men in Blazers regarding team cohesion, stating: “There’s a lot of research done about the longer the team plays together, the better they start to play. Or the more often they play together, the better they play as well.
“That’s why I am not a big fan of rotating the team every single game by five, six or seven positions. I think that doesn’t help you to get the right automatisms, so key players are important and vital.
“This is the second year this team is playing together, so that definitely helps us improve. But sometimes it’s good to inject some new energy as well, some new players also.
“You have to find the balance. Last season, we made the choice to keep everyone. The new manager was maybe the new energy at that time. We will see where we are going next season.”
Liverpool.com says: There was never going to be wholesale changes to the starting XI next season, but Slot suggesting that continuity is key would back up that idea. At left-back and number nine, Liverpool can upgrade for sure, and then it will be a case of one or two other things around that.
