Liverpool manager Arne Slot on injuries, contracts and the challenge of facing Fulham
Melwood, Liverpool, UK
Melwood, Liverpool, UK
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00:00Morning.
00:01Morning.
00:07Ready?
00:08OK.
00:09OK.
00:10Arnott, unless you can tell us everything has been sorted,
00:13obviously Mo, Trent, Virgil, three weeks away from officially being able to talk to foreign clubs,
00:19what concerns does that give you, if any,
00:21are we naive to think that those kind of conversations have not taken place already?
00:25It doesn't worry me, we just accept the situation as it is.
00:32So, it's a creative way of asking it in a new way.
00:37Did your boss help you with this?
00:40No.
00:41OK.
00:45No, no, so it's the situation as it is.
00:49But they play at a very good club and they do really well at the moment.
00:53So, hopefully we can keep it for a long time like this.
00:57My numbers in particular, and I'm looking at them,
01:00four goals in his last three games, seven in his last six,
01:0216 goals for the season in 22,
01:05and in the Premier League it's 13 goals and eight assists in 14 games.
01:09So, when you're working with a player like that,
01:11be it when you were a player yourself or as a coach,
01:14where does he rank amongst the best that you've worked with?
01:18And in general, working really hard for the team when we don't have the ball,
01:22that is something that was not on your list,
01:24but what is really important for us as a team as well.
01:29Yeah, I work with a lot of quality players over here,
01:33and Mo is definitely one of them.
01:36But he's also one of the ones that should score goals,
01:39like the other attackers that we have.
01:44He is also part of the fact why we keep as many clean sheets as we do,
01:48because we defend with 11 and we attack with 11,
01:51so he's one of the ones that is the end product of one of our attacks.
01:55He's doing that really well, for years in a row already for Liverpool,
02:00and let's hope he can continue doing that in the upcoming weeks as well.
02:05You spoke about your disappointment at the overall performance in midweek,
02:09but at the same time, what satisfaction are you taking from the fact
02:12that when you're not at your best you're still able to churn out those kind of results?
02:17If we wouldn't have conceded the amount of chances we conceded,
02:23I think I would have put a bit more positives about it.
02:27Now we also relied on our goalkeeper,
02:30so if you don't play well but you hardly concede anything,
02:34that is still a very positive thing.
02:36There were also a few positives to take, the amount of shots we blocked,
02:39we defended some situations a bit better or different than we did against Newcastle,
02:46and the second-half performance was already better than the first half,
02:50we controlled the game much better than the first half.
02:53But if a game is not that good, you can't concede the amount of opportunities
02:59we gave away in the first half, and with opportunities I also mean
03:03the amount of times they could just go over our midfield
03:06and just keep on running until our 18-yard box.
03:09And that, if you play against even better teams, will harm you at a certain moment.
03:14Will it serve as a kick up the backside, even though you might not necessarily need one?
03:18I don't think we need one, because these players have been outstanding in every single game.
03:23This wasn't our best performance, but it was still good enough
03:27to win a Champions League away game.
03:30But we're going to face Fulham now,
03:34who have done really well until now this season,
03:37and we should have a much better performance against them
03:40than we had against Girona to be able to get a result.
03:44They've taken quite a few points off some of the top sides recently,
03:47just how dangerous a prospect are they, do you think?
03:50Because of that reason, definitely, but you can only take away points from these teams
03:55if you have a lot of quality yourself and you have a good game model,
03:58a good game plan, and that's what they have.
04:00They work really hard as well when they don't have the ball,
04:03which is one of the reasons not to concede their goals,
04:07and that is what they've done against Arsenal,
04:09I think they only conceded from a set-piece.
04:11Against such an attacking threat as Arsenal,
04:14that probably tells you how well they are organised and structured.
04:18And they beat Brighton as well, which is a team that is so comfortable with the ball,
04:24so probably they are able to defend really strong.
04:30And they always have the threat of being a threat in a counter-attack,
04:37because of the fast players they have up front,
04:39and the goal-scoring abilities they have over there as well.
04:42Having Alisson come back into the squad at this time of the season,
04:46and having had plenty of time to get back to full fitness,
04:50do you think you're going to see real benefits from that now,
04:53given the fact that he's given a lot of confidence to the side as well?
04:56Hopefully. Hopefully the amount of time he needed,
05:03and we thought he needed to get him back on his best possible level,
05:07also helped us for the long-term.
05:10It's not only that he's there for a few weeks now,
05:13but it is something that has to be shown in the upcoming weeks and months
05:16that he will stay available.
05:18But he worked really hard together with our performance and medical staff
05:23to get where he is now, and hopefully he doesn't get the same amount of work every game he plays.
05:31But if he does, then he showed that he's able of doing it in a really good way for us.
05:39How has Starmin Nunes been this week?
05:42Is he frustrated that he's not making more of an impact and getting more goals for the team?
05:49That's one way of looking at it. For me, he has impact.
05:52If you only look at goals, he hasn't scored the amount of goals he wants to score,
05:58or we want our number 9 to score, but he does have impact in his work rate.
06:03That's not only for the other team not to create a chance,
06:08but it's also for us if we lose the ball and he's that aggressive,
06:11that we can get the ball back and still create our chances.
06:15He's part of a team that scores a lot of goals and is winning a lot,
06:19but of course as a number 9 you want to score more goals,
06:22and that's definitely what he wants as well.
06:24But till now, I'm not only judging Mo on his goals, I'm not only judging Darwin on his goals,
06:30I also judge them on their work rate and what they bring to the team.
06:33And that has been positive till now, except for us and he himself wanting to score more goals.
06:39Maybe mainly also because the fans support him so much,
06:43maybe he wants it even too much to score that goal for himself and also for the fans,
06:50because they've been very supportive for him.
06:53You can hear the chants around the ground, you can see it gets him going on a matchday.
06:58Yeah, it definitely does.
07:01But not only for him, I think all our players feel the support of our fans,
07:05but he's definitely one of them.
07:07And if you're in a good place, Mo for example, he's scoring so many goals,
07:11he likes the support of the fans but he doesn't really need it at the moment.
07:15But what I like about fans, and special fans,
07:19is that they're not only supportive if it's going really well for a player,
07:23but especially if he maybe needs that support,
07:26and that is what makes these fans of us special, in my opinion.
07:30And could he have more competition for places soon?
07:34Will Chiesa and Jota be available for this weekend?
07:37I think they are. We have one training session to go,
07:42but Federico missed quite a lot for a long time,
07:47was ill last week, so we have to wait and see how he's exactly doing.
07:51But maybe Djoko is in the squad, and maybe Federico as well,
07:56but that depends a bit on the numbers we have and also how he recovered from his illness.
08:02Karl, from SBS, that's your question.
08:08On Darwin, he put a post on social media after the game this week,
08:15which appears to make you aware that there's some criticism from some fans.
08:21Did he get affected by criticism?
08:26I know you were asked about confidence on Tuesday,
08:30and it wasn't really a confidence thing,
08:32but is he that sort of player who needs a bit of support,
08:36a bit of an arm around the shoulder?
08:38I think not only him, every player who is in a position where he is...
08:46We all saw that they did something with him,
08:50that he missed the chances last Tuesday.
08:54And I think everybody then needs an arm around you,
08:58either from a team-mate or from the fans or from your manager, that is clear.
09:03But I also made it clear to him that he's not only judged on the goals he scores,
09:08he's also judged on the team performance,
09:11and he adds something to the team performance as well with his work rate
09:15and how much he does for us winning the ball back high up on the pitch.
09:19So, yes, I said it before, ideally he has scored a few goals more,
09:25but it's mostly in a season like this.
09:28Maybe in a few weeks you will ask me,
09:30yeah, Mo is not scoring anymore and Darwin is scoring one goal after another.
09:34It is the life of a number nine, sometimes you score, sometimes you don't.
09:39But what should always be there is work rate, and I think that's what he had,
09:44apart from two games.
09:46The first one against Las Palmas, I said to him that yesterday,
09:49and the last half-hour against Girona wasn't of the standards he should have,
09:54and that had a lot to do with him being disappointed after missing a few chances.
10:02Chelsea manager Enzo Maresta said he doesn't believe his side are ready to challenge for the title.
10:08Do you think they are, and how do you view Chelsea?
10:12I think I've said a few times already what I think about Chelsea,
10:16before we played them, after we played them and one or two weeks later.
10:20I think it was one of the games, maybe the only game,
10:24where I felt the other team was better than us during that game.
10:29That's not to say that for a long time they were better than us,
10:33but during the game they had more ball possession than us,
10:36and they were threatening us more than any other team they did until now.
10:41So, yeah, that was my opinion about Chelsea back then, and that's still my opinion,
10:46but I'm not there to judge which position they will end in the league table,
10:52I have to focus on my own team.
10:55But Chelsea have been impressive this season so far, that's for sure.
11:00Hi, Arne. All teams have a tough schedule at this time of year,
11:04but Liverpool have travelled nearly 4,000 miles across their last five away trips,
11:09and in that same period of time, Fulham haven't even left London.
11:12Now, considering that level of disadvantage,
11:15and on the back of a game when you said intensity and aggression were maybe a bit lacking,
11:19do you think freshness becomes more important in terms of team selection at this time of year?
11:24Interesting way of looking at it.
11:27You think the fans will find it OK if we're going to play in London from now on?
11:32Because there are so many clubs in London,
11:34it's normal that they don't travel as much as we do, maybe,
11:39and they don't play in Europe, so that's something different as well.
11:44It is what these players are used to, and we have a big squad,
11:48so I don't mind us travelling that much.
11:51Sometimes it's even nice to go somewhere else,
11:53especially if you go to Spain and you expect to have a little bit of sun, which we didn't.
11:57But, no, it's what we want, we want to be in the Champions League,
12:03of course we are in the Premier League,
12:05and then don't complain about the amount of travel you have to do.
12:09We are in a privileged position that we travel in a really good way,
12:13so the airplane and the way we go there is very quick, so it's not an issue for us.
12:21I hope we can continue making these flights for a long, long time,
12:27in the second half of the season.
12:31Hi, Jürgen, just on Fedde.
12:33Obviously an illness is a bit of a different setback, I guess,
12:36to what he's been dealing with in terms of building that fitness,
12:39but given where he's up to now, what are the key steps now for him and for you
12:44to maintain an availability and build that match fitness
12:49in a period where there's a lot of intense fixtures and every game is so important?
12:55Yeah, what makes it difficult is that we play so many games,
12:59that's what I knew and it was just said to me as well.
13:03What he needs is playing time, and the problem is,
13:07if you haven't played for five or six months,
13:11it's sometimes difficult for a manager to give him his first minutes
13:16because you don't exactly know what you can expect.
13:19Yes, I see him on the training ground,
13:21but ideally you see him in a friendly during the week
13:24or you see him in an under-21 game or something like this.
13:28But that is not the situation we have, we play so many games,
13:31so maybe the Southampton game might be a good moment for him to get some playing minutes,
13:35and then we know a bit better what we can expect from him.
13:38Of course we see his qualities, we know his qualities,
13:41but he needs to get this fitness level.
13:44When you have training sessions, that is not the same as playing time,
13:47so you need to have playing time to reach certain fitness levels.
13:53But, yeah, that is if you are competing for the league
13:57and competing in the Champions League,
13:59it's not always easy to find these minutes,
14:01unless we are sometimes 4 or 5-0 up,
14:04but for the whole season I think it was only once
14:07against Bournemouth at home, 3-0 up at half-time.
14:11It hasn't been a struggle or a fight until the last second of every game.
14:17Any more for the breakout next door?
14:21When you came to Liverpool from Rotterdam,
14:25you had an image of how it would be working at a top club.
14:29Is there anything that is completely different compared to what you thought it would be?
14:35No, the good thing was that I already worked at a top club,
14:38as you know, these two are Dutch, these two come from Feyenoord.
14:41So, I already worked at a top club.
14:45The difference is that it's all a bit bigger over here,
14:49so the training ground is a bit bigger, the country is bigger,
14:53so, like you just said, we have to drive,
14:58we have to travel longer, and that takes more effort.
15:04And the quality of the league is much, much higher than the quality in the Eredivisie,
15:09which makes every game a battle to get your points,
15:13because at a top club like Feyenoord,
15:17we could easily win 7 out of 10,
15:21but here it's 10 out of 10 games that are difficult to win.
15:25That's the main difference, in my opinion.
15:28Ask one.
15:31You went from the other top club to this top club, which is a bigger club, of course.
15:38But, as I do it in English, which is very, very difficult.
15:43And now you're going to play at Christmas, for the first time in your career.
15:48Are you looking forward to that, or is it difficult maybe in preparation,
15:52because you've never had it before?
15:55I was always happy that in the Premier League the teams played,
15:59because when I was off, you were always like,
16:02there's no football on television, and then, oh, there is,
16:04because in the Premier League they play.
16:06So I was always very happy that the Premier League played.
16:09Now, when you're in this league, you sometimes feel,
16:12OK, a few days, a few weeks off were maybe not good for me,
16:16because I had my days off during the international breaks when the national teams played,
16:20but I think for the players it would definitely be beneficial
16:23for them to have one or two weeks off.
16:26But it is not the situation, and before we played Girona we had to play Everton,
16:33and when that game was cancelled I was like, OK, maybe that's a good thing,
16:38maybe we have even more energy now to play in Girona.
16:41So it was a bit of a surprise for me to see us not having that energy in Girona,
16:45as we usually have.
16:47So maybe it's a good thing for us that we play so many games,
16:50and actually I'm looking forward to it.
16:52My family is going over, so Christmas days will be similar to normal,
16:56except for the fact that last year I was in Dubai, so there was a bit more sun,
17:01and now I'm here in Liverpool hoping to enjoy a home game against Leicester,
17:07which is maybe a different way of spending Christmas,
17:14but it's also a way of where I'm looking forward to, yeah.
17:20They use that fine art that it takes an hour, so that's why they keep asking questions.
17:27Everything is bigger here, like you said, bigger competition, bigger country,
17:32bigger media attention, everything.
17:35Is there something you still miss from your time at this?
17:39The people. The people I work with.
17:43I hate to say this, but it is true.
17:46All the fans as well, they've been really good for me as well,
17:49so this is something I never did when I worked at Feyenoord,
17:52to try to make myself popular by giving them compliments.
17:55They've been outstanding for me, but the people I've worked with at Feyenoord,
17:59I definitely miss them, and the players as well,
18:01because you build a relationship with them.
18:03I'm very happy over here, the staff is so good for me and the players as well,
18:08but if you've worked three years together, you've won a few things,
18:12then it's normal I think that you miss these people.
18:16Apart from these two as well, I miss them a lot!