Liverpool are runaway Premier League leaders after hitting the ground running in Arne Slot’s first season but the manager recognises there is a long way left to go
Liverpool are runaway Premier League leaders after hitting the ground running in Arne Slot’s first season but the manager recognises there is a long way left to go Liverpool are runaway Premier League leaders after hitting the ground running in Arne Slot’s first season but the manager recognises there is a long way left to go
Liverpool boss Arne Slot has no doubts about the mentality of his table-topping team – but insists they should NOT be branded chokers if they now fail to win the Premier League.
The Reds welcomed in the New Year holding a six-point lead over Arsenal having played a game less. And Slot’s only defeat in 50 games as coach of Feyenoord and Liverpool during the whole of 2024 was the shock September setback against Nottingham Forest.
But while the Dutchman admitted he would be “90 percent’ certain of winning the title if he was still in Holland, he has warned that there are too many twists and turns in England to ever take success for granted.
Asked if Liverpool have the bottle to handle the pressure, Slot said: “I have a lot of trust in the players in every aspect of football: their mentality, their quality on the ball, their work-rate. But for me it’s not about bringing it (the title) over the line because there are 20 games still left and still a long way to go.
“There have been so many seasons in the Premier League when so many teams who have a comfortable lead win it – but sometimes other teams come back. If you have this lead in the Eredivisie, you are 90 percent sure to win the league because it is nearly impossible to lose against the lower teams.
“But this week we have seen Chelsea lose against Ipswich, so that tells you it is impossible to look so far ahead. It is possible in the Eredivisie, but impossible here because there are so many good teams. So it’s a good lead – but it’s not enough to be comfortable. That’s a nice way to say it.”
Liverpool face Manchester United at Anfield knowing they will equal their arch-rivals’ record of 20 titles if they finish the season in top spot. And with Ruben Amorim admitting he is now facing a relegation battle after losing five of his opening eight Premier League games since taking over as United manager from Erik ten Hag in November, the Merseysiders face their nemesis during the worst Old Trafford crisis for 50 years.
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Slot’s succession from Jurgen Klopp has been seamless. But while the Dutchman understands the difficulties of taking charge of a new club during the season, he revealed that he faces his own difficulties by moving from Feyenoord to Liverpool during the summer of Euro 2024.
Slot said: “I think much more goes into thinking about whether you go to another club in the middle of the season or at the end of the season. What are the qualities of the club? What about the team you are working with at that moment? How long have you worked there? Do you want a new challenge, yes or no?
“I think, in general, every manager around the world would tell you that they prefer to come in in the summer. I would have preferred to come in in the summer as well – but with a six-week lead-up (pre-season). I came in here with a one-week lead-up because all the players were at the Euros.
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“We had one week of training sessions with the players and then we had to start. Fourteen or 15 players were not in until one-and-a-half weeks before the start of the season.
“In another world I would have said, ‘okay, give me a pre-season where we have six weeks with all the players’. But you don’t always get the ideal circumstances, and this is part of our job.
“The good thing for me is that we have quality players, so it’s not only about the training sessions. It’s also very useful to have quality players.”
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