- 3 days ago
Liverpool Arne Slot on the Merseyside Derby with Everton and the fitness of Alexander Isak
AXA training centre, Melwood, Liverpool, UK
AXA training centre, Melwood, Liverpool, UK
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Arne, you said the other night that you were surprised at Alexander Isak's fitness,
00:05so what are you thinking in terms of him being able to start this weekend,
00:09even though obviously you did tell us as well that he won't play the full 90 minutes?
00:12No, no.
00:13No, and I don't think I tell the media a lot the day before the game how we start the game.
00:21We had a recovery yesterday, actually we're going to train this afternoon,
00:26so first of all we have to see how they all feel.
00:29What we do know is that Alex did feel his body more maybe than ever before
00:36after the 60-minute he played, so let's see how he's recovered today
00:42and then we're going to think about the line-up mainly today,
00:47and you will hear it then tomorrow.
00:49Has it changed to the routine as well because of the game on Wednesday,
00:53you obviously train him later today because you usually train a bit earlier than that,
00:56what's the thinking?
00:58That has all to do with the early kick-off on Saturday,
01:03that we give them a little bit of extra time to recover,
01:08and one of the ways to recover really well is sleep, as we all know.
01:13So yeah, we had to play this week three games, which is something we have to do a lot,
01:22but it's not many times that you have to do this in seven days,
01:25so Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday is not a schedule you see a lot.
01:30But yeah, it is what it is, and we play tomorrow, 12.30 kick-off.
01:36When Alexander is fully match-sharp, obviously Hugo Eck and TK Renaud can play as a No. 9 as well,
01:42what are you thinking is the best way to fit both of them into the side?
01:45Would you ever consider playing both of them together as a strike partnership,
01:49or are you thinking Hugo would play more from the left if you're going to play both of them together?
01:53Yeah, I consider, of course, because you consider many things,
01:58and it depends always on how well they are doing.
02:01So if both of them are in the best form of their life,
02:04you even consider more of playing them together.
02:06But it's also quite clear that we have a certain structure which has mainly been 4-3-3,
02:11playing with three midfielders, but the amount of time, the end phase of the game,
02:15we've played with two nines, that has happened quite a lot as well.
02:19Hugo can indeed also play from the left, different than Cody or Rio do this.
02:25So yeah, we have, and that's the good thing about our squad, we have multiple options,
02:29but first of all they all have to still fit for me to have these options,
02:33and if some of them are not fit we might have to use them both in a 4-4-2,
02:38that all depends on the form of them and how many players we have available,
02:44because I think maybe all of them are fit now,
02:47and I think I can choose between 21 players.
02:50So that's quite normal, isn't it? It's not that it's far too much.
02:56And the Merseyside derby, how do you see the City rivalry with Everton?
02:59How do you compare as well the current Everton with the Everton that you faced last season?
03:03No, when we faced them last season they had a very good spell as well,
03:07and it wasn't a spell because they just kept on going with that,
03:10and into this season again also I think they made some good signings.
03:15One of them is of course a player on loan that was worth 100 million,
03:20maybe still, but someone paid 100 million for him,
03:24and he's doing so well for them, Jack Rilish.
03:27So, good team, indeed there is rivalry, but what I also liked,
03:34and I want to emphasise in this moment maybe on that as well,
03:38what they did when Djokovic passed away coming to Anfield,
03:43and be there, I think it was the captain,
03:48and of course they showed their respect on sports director to sports director,
03:55and all these kind of things.
03:57So in these moments of time it's so nice to see that in those tragedies,
04:01the rivalry is still there, but the respect towards both is also there.
04:07So looking forward to the game tomorrow because every Anfield game is special,
04:13but this Derby is even more special.
04:17Thank you very much.
04:18I know obviously the rivalry and respect is always there between these two teams,
04:24but I just wonder how you felt being part of this fixture last season,
04:29and how it differed maybe to other atmospheres and other rivalries
04:33that you've felt before in your career.
04:35No, it differed, if that is the right English words to use.
04:42What I like so much here in England is that no matter how much rivalry there is
04:47between us and Everton, or between us and United,
04:50or if we're going to go to Newcastle with the whole Isak story going on,
04:55the fans can just be together.
04:57So when we arrived at Newcastle I saw ten Liverpool shirts,
05:00and I saw many Newcastle shirts by the way,
05:02but the ten Liverpool shirts could just stand in between the Newcastle fans.
05:07That is impossible in Holland.
05:10So that is something really special what you have over here now,
05:14and I hope you can keep this for many years to come.
05:17So yes there's rivalry, yes both fans are so passionate for their own teams,
05:21but they respect each other as well.
05:23And that for me is the main difference,
05:26because if Ajax plays against Feyenoord away fans are not allowed anymore.
05:30So that tells you how terrible that situation is.
05:35And it makes it so much nicer if both fans are there.
05:39And that's what's going to happen tomorrow,
05:41and I hope that this is going to continue for as long as football is played in England.
05:45Obviously last season it was all first,
05:47it was the first Merseyside derby,
05:49it was the first Merseyside derby at Anfield for you.
05:51This time around it is slightly different,
05:53so have you had a chance to sort of feel the build-up in the city
05:55to see how people react to this game?
05:58Is it a bit different in that way?
06:00Honest answer is no, I haven't seen this because we had to play Wednesday evening,
06:06and that was quite an important game for us as well,
06:09and a special game.
06:11So then yesterday we had some recovery,
06:14you go home, watch a few Champions League games,
06:17and now I'm sitting here in front of you.
06:19So no, you don't feel this because you don't come into the city
06:23and feel what is happening,
06:25but we all know how special this game is,
06:28and the moment we walk into the stadium tomorrow
06:30or when we arrive with the bus,
06:32those are the moments you truly feel what it means to the fans,
06:35but we don't even need that moment to understand how important this game is.
06:43Hi, Arne, how do you go about preparing,
06:46it looks like you'll have a few derby debutants in this game tomorrow,
06:50so how do you go about preparing your players
06:53who haven't played in a Merseyside derby for this sort of occasion
06:57that maybe even the intensity took you by surprise
07:01when you became part of the Liverpool set-up?
07:05Because it is different, isn't it?
07:07Do you get the players to instruct their colleagues,
07:11or is it advice from you?
07:13No, I've experienced the away game as something different
07:18than I've experienced before in all the other away games we've played,
07:23but I think Newcastle away felt for me similar as Everton away last season.
07:29So it's not for the first time these players play this game,
07:34and for the new ones it's not for the first time they play in circumstances
07:39where there's a lot of rivalry, where there's a lot of intensity in the game,
07:42a lot of tackles being made.
07:44But I think, yes, the focus should also be on the rivalry,
07:48but it should also be on what we need to do to win that game,
07:52and that is being intense, that is winning the duels,
07:55but that's definitely also going to be playing good on the ball,
08:00and playing good when we don't have the ball be intense,
08:03and it's again going to be a difficult game because they have many good players.
08:08I don't know exactly what they're going to do,
08:11is it going to be like last season when we faced them a lot of long balls,
08:14where this season I've seen them playing out from the back many times really well?
08:18Maybe also because they've brought in some very talented and good players
08:22that can play both styles.
08:25So we have to prepare them for that,
08:27and of course maybe Virgil, Mo, these kind of players will tell the new ones
08:31what they can expect, but we are not talking about rookies,
08:34and it's not like these players play the first time in a full stadium
08:37or the first time in these kind of games.
08:40If you talk about Florian, he's played so many special games in his career already,
08:45and I can come up with all the others as well.
08:48Yes, it's special, but it's not miles of other special games they've played.
08:56Mo Salah has been breaking records for Liverpool,
08:59he's been phenomenal since the day he walked through the door,
09:02and he contributes with goals and assists even when he's not at his best,
09:06but you could sense maybe in the first few games of this season
09:11an element of frustration from Mo that he wasn't able to get at his best,
09:15but I think we saw maybe for the first time this season
09:18he was beginning to sparkle and contribute in an all-round sense.
09:23How encouraged are you by that,
09:25and what do you think that could maybe add in the coming weeks?
09:29Now for me, when you are a great player,
09:32you still attribute to the team if you don't play well.
09:36So many players can attribute goals or assists when they play well,
09:40but not a lot of them can attribute something to the team when they don't play well,
09:45and with attribute I mean goals and assists,
09:47so they can always give their work rate.
09:49But this is what stands out with Mo, I think, and which is normal,
09:53especially if you're a winger,
09:55it's so difficult to always be creative
09:58or always be the player he was at Atletico Madrid,
10:00but if he's not that player, which is normal,
10:03then he still has goals and assists,
10:06and I think that is why the fans love him so much
10:09and why he's so highly regarded and respected,
10:12because a lot of players can play good when the team plays good
10:17or when they play good themselves,
10:19but not a lot can do special things when they are not at their best,
10:23and that is what he can, and that's what makes him so special, I think.
10:28But I prefer to see him like he was in the Atletico game,
10:33he was very much involved, that was also very positive,
10:36so the Newcastle game there was hardly ball in place,
10:39it was difficult for every player to be special,
10:41but now we played so many balls to him,
10:44he was so much involved, he touched the ball so many times,
10:48Florian fined him so many times,
10:50so it was a joy to watch to see him like that,
10:54but if we don't see him like that, he's still able to score goals,
10:57and that's what makes him special, I think.
11:02Rob?
11:03The two themes of the season have been scoring late goals
11:08and conceding 2-0 leads from 2-0 up,
11:12I'm just wondering, on that respect,
11:14with conceding the goals,
11:15have you seen any similarities between each of those occasions,
11:19or are they all individually different,
11:22in terms of getting in a position where you're so strong,
11:25and then they miss it?
11:27Nah, we've only played five games,
11:31so then it's difficult to see something for the long term in it,
11:34so yes, twice we gave away a 2-0 lead,
11:38completely different when you see the goals,
11:42against Bournemouth we were too open maybe,
11:46we missed Ryan in that position in the midfield,
11:48so they could just go all the way to our goal
11:52and score two counter-attacking goals,
11:54I don't think Atletico scored two counter-goals,
11:59two goals from transition,
12:01so you cannot compare that,
12:02but it's not ideal that if you have a 2-0 lead twice we gave it away,
12:08so this is something we definitely have to improve,
12:10as many other things we have to improve,
12:13but the positive thing about it is also that then,
12:17if we feel the urgency again we're able to score a goal,
12:22but this is definitely something we talk about,
12:26that 2-0 lead,
12:28because you can run out of energy or run out of steam
12:30towards the end of the season
12:32if you every game mentally and physically
12:34have to go all the way to the end
12:36to win a game of football,
12:38so it's never a good idea to keep on doing this,
12:42but if we need it I still hope we can do it.
12:46Do you think that when you get to 2-0 up,
12:50there's almost an element of trying to protect themselves
12:54or just manage the situation rather than,
12:57I don't know if you want to go on and score more goals,
12:59but at 2-0 is there a risk that it's done?
13:05Yeah, that's funny that you say so,
13:08because we got criticised a bit that when we were 2-0 up against Bournemouth
13:12we were still attacking with 12 players in the 18-yard box of the other team,
13:16so that tells you that we don't back off, we don't go slower,
13:19we just keep on going,
13:21and I think that's why we always play at 8 o'clock or 9 o'clock for the Champions League
13:26and never at 6.45, because everybody wants to look Liverpool,
13:31because it's so nice to see them play,
13:34we always keep on going,
13:36and they in the past by the way as well,
13:39with they I mean Liverpool.
13:41and it was the same against Atletico Madrid,
13:47we created so many chances against Madrid
13:52compared to other games we played this season,
13:54that we were not trying to keep the lead,
13:56we were trying to make it 3-1 or trying to make it 3-0,
14:00so yeah, maybe we should in some moments be a bit more composed or calm,
14:08but I like that mentality that we have.
14:13Hi Arne, we spoke last season a few times about how us and the media
14:17can be a bit too fixated on results in comparison to performances,
14:21but when there are things that aren't quite as they should be,
14:24such as the 2-0 leagues,
14:26do you find it somehow easier to be perhaps critical with your players internally at least,
14:31when the results are still coming?
14:33No, I don't think media is too fixed on that,
14:36I think everyone in football is fans, players,
14:39we are all fixed on results because we don't have results
14:42and then next week someone else is sitting here,
14:44so that's maybe a bit too early.
14:47But this is how the industry works,
14:50so that's not only the media.
14:52But it does definitely help that if you still win games,
14:57that you can also point out things that you have to improve,
15:02that 9 out of 10 times works better than when you lose many games of football
15:06and you're constantly telling them what they have to improve.
15:09So mainly what you do as a manager is if you lose games,
15:14then you try to emphasise on the positives as well,
15:17whereas if you lose games you also emphasise on the positives,
15:19but you definitely also tell them what you have to improve.
15:22So yeah, I prefer the situation of winning the games
15:26and then pointing out that we can still improve things
15:31compared to losing games and being positive.
15:35Thank you very much.
Recommended
1:46
|
Up next
2:13
1:01
1:01
1:30
1:13
Be the first to comment