Arne Slot took his place in front of the media for the first time as Liverpool’s new head coach on Friday, and it gave us some valuable insight into what we can expect from him.
The Slot era at Liverpool is officially underway, pre-season is in motion and the Dutchman addressed the media for the first time with the Liver bird on his chest.
It was a press conference that took place at the AXA Training Centre and lasted close to 30 minutes, enough time to see how relaxed Slot was and his differences from his predecessor.
Here are four things we noticed.
Short and to the point answers
With Jurgen Klopp, we were used to long responses to questions – unless the question annoyed him to the extent that he would dismiss it almost instantly.
Slot, on the other hand, offered answers that were succinct and to the point – quite the change of pace!
Perhaps this may change as he grows more comfortable in his new surroundings but, for now, it was one of the first things you noticed as the press took turns putting him in the spotlight.
Happy to lean into some jokes
The leading figure of a club cannot be serious at all times, it is not fun for them or supporters.
Of course, if results are not positive the environment is not quite set up for jokes, but here we saw Slot lean into his personality and let it shine.
When discussing tactics, it was put to him that he used a 4-2-3-1 formation at Feyenoord, something he let slide until the final part of his answer when he joked: “I’m curious who told you we played 4-2-3-1!
“Maybe that one should go to get his licence or analyse a bit better!”
A chuckle from Slot and the assembled media was hopefully a sign of things to come, with this relationship a fundamental one – just ask Jurgen!
Not scared to take on the challenge
It can be intimidating to take over from someone who many deem irreplaceable, and you could not fault Slot if he did hold reservations, but he remained steadfast that it is something he is embracing.
“You can look at it both ways, you can look at it that yeah, they are big shoes to fill, but you can also look at it that you inherited a squad and a team that has a winning culture,” he said.
“You can look at it in a way of being the successor of someone who is really successful, but I look at it in a way that is ideal because there is an opportunity to win something.”
Klopp returned the club to its former glory and now the baton has been passed on to someone who clearly appreciates and acknowledges what came before him, but also what lies ahead.
The Dutchman comes across as modest but with clear and obvious convictions in his own ability. The perfect combination if you ask us.
Behind-closed-door chats stay private
There is a small line between divulging everything and keeping things out of the public realm, so far Slot has proven that he does not feel the need to disclose everything.
He displayed this multiple times throughout the press conference, one such occasion was when he was asked where he sees Trent Alexander-Arnold and Cody Gakpo playing next season.
Slot could have easily started discussing this out in the open, but instead said: “If you don’t mind, I’m going to talk to them about that first and work with them first before telling you.”
Another example relates to his calls with his predecessor, with him saying, “We’ve spoken about many things, but I think it’s not more than normal that the things we’ve spoken about stays between us.”
This is clearly the way he operates and we don’t see it changing anytime soon.
Arne Slot’s first LFC press conference
