Slot on Liverpool latest ahead of Newcastle trip
03/12/2024
AXA training centre, Liverpool, Uk
03/12/2024
AXA training centre, Liverpool, Uk
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00:00Yeah, he's on your position.
00:10Jürgen, Gary Neville after the game on Sunday labelled you as huge favourites for the title,
00:18so how do you see it now?
00:20It's not the first one he does, isn't it? First time he does, so...
00:24He had a different opinion at the start of the season about this,
00:27which probably most people had, so he was not the only one, except for our fans.
00:33Yeah, I've said many times already, we don't look at it at this moment like this.
00:40We know we have a difficult week coming up again,
00:44where we fought Madrid and City, were very difficult teams to face,
00:49which they actually were as well.
00:51I think it's even harder to go away in an away game to Newcastle,
00:56so we're not even halfway through the season yet.
01:00But it's a good position to be in, that's definitely true.
01:04Not just a difficult week, because you've got back-to-back away games in the Premier League,
01:08but six of your next nine games in all competitions are away from home.
01:12You're playing every three or four days in that period as well,
01:16so just how challenging is that particularly when you're there to be shot at now as well?
01:21Yeah, maybe the last thing makes it difficult,
01:24but I think if Liverpool is number one, two, three or four,
01:29it is always a very special game for the teams we face.
01:33It doesn't matter that much what the league table tells you.
01:37If Liverpool comes, the stadium is sold out and everyone wants to play us,
01:42and wants to have the best game against us,
01:45like they have against Arsenal, Man City and all the others.
01:48So the good thing for me is that it's not only us who play that many games,
01:52so, for example, if we face Everton next week, they've had a game during the week as well,
01:58so mostly we face teams that are rested for a week,
02:00because we play Champions League and some others don't.
02:04But now many teams have many games, because it's England,
02:10we play a lot of games in this period of time.
02:12But, yeah, I wasn't aware of the fact that six of the nine were away,
02:17but now you tell me it makes it even more difficult, but we're ready for it.
02:21And just aside from the game, I'll go back to Mo,
02:24because there was a hint at the weekend that it could be his last home league game
02:29against Manchester City, and subsequently there have been reports
02:33that he's exasperated the contract situation at the moment.
02:36Just to put it a little bit differently, is this all just part of the dance
02:39before everything's agreed and Mo commits his future to Liverpool for another season?
02:43Maybe. Mo knows more about the 115 acquisitions that are done,
02:48so he expects them not to be in the Premier League next season.
02:52LAUGHTER
02:54And I do expect them in the Premier League.
02:58No, I think the boring answer is always the same,
03:01this is not the place for me to talk about Mo's contract,
03:05and maybe I've said already too much about the joke I just made,
03:09so that will probably get the headlines.
03:11But it was a joke, I repeat, it was a joke.
03:14Thanks, Arno.
03:16You're welcome.
03:18Any news in terms of injuries or players coming back?
03:22The goalkeepers are concerned that you might have a big decision to make in a few weeks' time?
03:29I feel I always have a big decision to make, in every line-up I have to make.
03:34If you look at our last game against City, I didn't play Darwin,
03:40I didn't play Curtis, I didn't play Vata, I didn't play Harvey Elliott,
03:44and Joao Kwanzaa, and probably I forget one or two now, Tyler Morton.
03:49So it's always big decisions you have to make as a manager of Liverpool,
03:53because we have so many quality players.
03:55But I think I've been clear a few weeks ago about what my position is about our goalkeepers,
04:00but we're just waiting for the moment that Alisson is completely fit,
04:05because Kweef is doing too well to put Alisson in goal if he's only on 50 per cent,
04:10and that would be good for Alisson and not be good for the team.
04:14He's getting there, it might take a few more extra days,
04:18but he's getting closer and closer, and like I've always said,
04:22the end phase of a rehab is always the period where you feel like,
04:30OK, is he really there or does he need a few extra days?
04:33But he will be in goal before the end of December, if things continue like they are now.
04:41After such an intense week, where you've had two particularly big tests,
04:47do you speak to the players, do you look at things,
04:51do you assess things in terms of making sure nobody now takes their foot off the gas?
04:56Not as detailed as you say.
05:01No matter how it goes in a season, you always keep your eye on the players,
05:06who feels very well, who doesn't.
05:09But I think all the players have felt till now what we've done
05:13to secure this position we are having at the moment, to secure these wins,
05:17and they all know how hard they had to work for it.
05:20So if we would have done this by just playing on 50 per cent,
05:24and it's so easy for us, then they might feel,
05:27ah, we're just too good for this league, but that's definitely not what we feel.
05:31Against every team, no matter if it's City or Wimbledon,
05:34or it was Wolverhampton, Wanderers or Nottingham Forest,
05:38we had to work really, really hard to get the results,
05:42and I think that keeps them with both feet on the ground.
05:45Is that the saying here as well? OK.
05:49You asked on Sunday about not getting carried away,
05:52how important is it that you have got players in the squad,
05:55the Glorious before, when they leave the Premier League,
05:58how important is it to have those players there,
06:00and is it easy not to get carried away as well?
06:03I think it is important, but it's also the culture of this club
06:07that for us it's not that special thing to be on top of the league
06:11or to be on top in the Champions League format,
06:14although that is special because it's never been before.
06:17Normally you have a different group in the Champions League.
06:20But this club, this team, these players are used to the fact
06:24that they are top of the league or they are competing for every trophy.
06:28Then it helps that they've experienced this,
06:31they also have experienced that they competed for a long time
06:35and then in the end they came too short.
06:40They couldn't manage to win it.
06:42So they also know that it's a long season
06:46and to win the league against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and City,
06:53because I see those three as our main competitors at the moment,
06:57they all know that we have to be on top of our game for nine or ten months,
07:02because if you let down for a second, these clubs show up immediately.
07:09So that is a combination of factors, that they have the experience,
07:12but they also see the quality of Chelsea,
07:15they've experienced the quality of Arsenal and also of Chelsea and of City already,
07:20so they know we have to stay on top of our game.
07:23And they're now facing Newcastle,
07:25which is the team that have won at home from Chelsea,
07:30against Arsenal, and had a draw against City.
07:33So they don't need me to tell them how difficult the game of tomorrow will be.
07:52Unfortunately, I've experienced that already,
07:54that he is able to score 20 goals in a season.
07:56I remember when he played for PSV Eindhoven when I was at Feyenoord Rotterdam,
08:02and he almost every time scored against us.
08:06So he was able to score in that league
08:08and he's definitely able to score that many goals here as well.
08:11Just like Lucio, just like Mo, just like Darwin or Djoko,
08:15they are all capable of scoring that amount of goals.
08:18Now, unfortunately for them, they have so many good players around them
08:21that they don't start every single game,
08:23because that would help for them to get the numbers even higher.
08:26But if I combine the numbers of Cody and Lucio,
08:29they probably are coming close to the numbers Mo has.
08:34So it's the position that has to bring the numbers,
08:37and the same for the nine position, as well for the right-winger position.
08:42But Cody is in a very good place at the moment,
08:45but I think you agree with me that Lucio is as well.
08:49You're welcome.
08:51Jürgen, you've got the best defence in the Premier League,
08:54but with the injuries you've got there,
08:57is that the area of the team that's going to come under the most pressure in December?
09:01Because you haven't got the cover you'd like or the chance to...
09:05Yeah, you tell me we've got the best defence because we've conceded less goals,
09:10so that doesn't mean we only have the best defence,
09:13that means we have 11 players that work really, really hard not to concede a goal.
09:18But I agree with you that our last line has impressed this season,
09:22and maybe the season before as well, but this season a lot as well,
09:26because every time they have to defend, they are there, as well as our goalkeeper.
09:30So, yeah, if in another line, midfield, attack or defence,
09:36we would have had this amount of injuries, that would have worried me as well,
09:41especially because I knew, and it's been just said,
09:44we've got nine games coming up in this month,
09:47so to go into that month with only five defenders is not ideal,
09:51but it's part of everyone's season.
09:54We played just as many games in October and January,
09:58so whenever you've got some injuries in a certain line, it's always a bit of a worry.
10:03But I trust the players we are having now that they do everything they can to stay fit,
10:08and we have to take smart decisions in this as well,
10:11to keep them available for this month,
10:14because if you face the likes of the clubs I just said,
10:17you cannot have a month where you don't have the results,
10:20because then they will be back.
10:25In terms of full-backs, you don't get a really genuine cover at full-backs,
10:29and you've got Jarrell on to cover for Trent.
10:32Are you going to have to make some sort of smart decisions there
10:36in terms of covering a full-back, because you haven't got the genuine cover?
10:41Yeah, it always depends on the results, if people judge us as smart.
10:46But we have to be creative, maybe that's a better word to use,
10:52for the moment that we cannot use Trent.
10:56So last weekend against City, we didn't think it was smart to play Trent for 90 minutes
11:01after his injury, and that's probably going to be the same tomorrow,
11:05and on Saturday as well, so we have to be creative.
11:09For me, playing Jarrell over there is not so creative, he's able to play there.
11:13But maybe for whatever reason, if we need Jarrell as a centre-back,
11:17because one of the centre-backs can't continue the game,
11:20then we need to be even more creative.
11:23And if it works out, you would probably call it smart.
11:26If it doesn't, it's one of the stupidest things I've done till now.
11:32Hi, Arnaud. I wanted to ask you about Mo Salah, a football question.
11:36Yeah.
11:38His goals and assists have been worth 20 Premier League points so far this season,
11:42and he's contributed to 53 per cent of the total of the team.
11:45You mentioned that Kodiak probably is the air-spot with goalscoring records,
11:49but is there a danger of perhaps an over-reliance on him when it comes to assists?
11:53Because I think he's nearly got three times as many as everyone else on the team.
11:56Is there a danger that we rely too much on him? Is that what you're saying?
12:01A bit, but only because he's also a human being
12:08and it happened to him last season that he can get an injury as well.
12:12Since Federico Chiesa has had a difficult start to the club because of injuries,
12:20we don't really have a replacement for Mo.
12:23The good thing is that Javi Elliott is getting fitter and fitter again
12:27and he played this position many times as well.
12:30So I'm not afraid that Mo's numbers will drop at all,
12:36but when it comes to an injury of him, then we are in a better position on the left wing
12:42than we are on the right.
12:44But the good thing is that Federico is also training with us again,
12:47he's getting back, and Javi is getting back.
12:51But the best thing that can happen to us is that Mo stays fit
12:56and keeps producing these numbers.
12:59Jürgen, just back to the defensive team.
13:02Jürgen Romero has obviously been fit, he's had loads of football this season,
13:07but every time he comes in he's barely put a foot down.
13:10How much of a test is that for his mentality, his quality,
13:15that he keeps coming in without necessarily having loads of rhythm and performance?
13:20Yeah, I think everybody sees his quality,
13:24and for exactly the reason you just said, it shows how impressed I am by his mentality,
13:31because it's not always easy to come in during a game or to replace a player that did so well,
13:37and I think Konaté did really well.
13:40And it's not the first time he's experiencing this,
13:43so some players can do this for a season and then they're like,
13:47I want to play, I want to go somewhere else, and Joe is patient in a good way.
13:53He always makes sure he's ready whenever the club or his teammates need him,
13:58and that is special when it comes to his mentality,
14:02because not many players can do this for so many years that he has done this.
14:06But last season he played many, many games, I think you could call him a starter that season,
14:12and in some other seasons maybe he was more of the second choice
14:17in every other position in the last line.
14:20And for him to keep doing this probably tells you a lot about his mentality,
14:25but also what he does on a daily basis in training sessions and at home
14:31to stay as fit as he is, because he's incredibly fit and ready to perform.
14:38That is more special than people think it is, that's definitely true.
14:59We are having discussions every day, no matter if there's a window coming up or not.
15:06We always talk about the team, which players we like,
15:09which players are maybe not in the best place.
15:13Fortunately, we talk more about the ones that do well,
15:16because almost all of them do really well.
15:19And, yeah, it is a bit of a worry that three defenders are out at the moment,
15:24but the good thing is if the window opens, the defenders are back.
15:29I've said many times at the beginning of this season
15:34that I'm so, so happy with the squad we are having.
15:37That's not to say if there will be a chance in the market.
15:41This club has always shown that they are going for it.
15:43That's also what we did with the goalkeeper,
15:45who is not even with us at the moment, but we felt it was a chance for us to do it.
15:49So that is what this club is known for,
15:52and these people like Richard and Michael Edwards are known for.
15:55But we are mainly focused now on Newcastle and Everton
15:59and all these nine games that are coming up.
16:02But, yeah, it's normal that we also have conversations about our squad
16:06and what we can expect, can something change, yes or no,
16:09which are the chances in the market.