- 11 months ago
Liverpool boss Arne Slot on his relationship with Mo Salah, injuries to Joe Gomez and Dominik Szoboszlai and facing Tottenham
AXA Training Centre, Liverpool, UK
AXA Training Centre, Liverpool, UK
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00:00Is there going to be any conversations while he's away at AFCON?
00:06Is there anything still needed in that respect?
00:09Or is it just the case of when he returns, he just goes straight back in as well?
00:13No, I've said last week, Axins speak louder than words.
00:17We moved on, he was in the squad and it was the first substitution I made.
00:23But now he's at the AFCON playing big games for himself but also for the country.
00:29So I think it's fair to them but definitely also for us because we are going to play some very important games.
00:36All the focus is for him over there and there should not be any distraction of me saying anything about his time here at Liverpool.
00:46Because what I said, we've moved on after the Leeds interview and he played against Brighton.
00:52And now he's there, so it's fair for that country and for him and also for us
00:58to talk for us about Tottenham and other games and for them to be fully focused on their tournament.
01:06So how is the squad looking availability-wise in this next big game?
01:10In particular with Joe Gomez, Dominic Shabozla with that ankle injury that he had.
01:15Is Jeremy Freepong available once again?
01:18He had a scan that looked promising, so that means that we're not that worried anymore as we were maybe one or two weeks ago.
01:30So that means he might come back a bit earlier than expected two weeks ago.
01:34But that's definitely not tomorrow and also not next week.
01:38Where Joe is not in the squad as well on the weekend.
01:45And Dominic trained yesterday parts of the training for the first time, so let's see where he is today and how he is tomorrow.
01:52And Jeremy White is in the squad again as well.
01:56Obviously you can't round your back up.
01:58Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:59What are you expecting from Spurs?
02:01Because it was 20 goals across the four games last season, including the 6-3 down there.
02:06And I make it in the last 12 meetings between the two, you averaging goals in each game.
02:12Each game you averaging about 4.5 goals per game.
02:15Yeah, yeah.
02:17But it took us 92 minutes I think to score away against Brentford, a Thomas Frank team last season.
02:24So you cannot compare.
02:26Yeah, you can compare certain things because mainly the same players, they've added a few players to their team
02:35and with Thomas Frank, a new manager, so I don't think you can compare our games of last season with this season.
02:43Even more so because we not only added, we lost a lot of players as well.
02:49So you cannot compare this team of us to last season, even with the same manager, because I'm the same manager.
02:57And you cannot compare our results last season with facing a Thomas Frank team.
03:02Do you feel like you're building momentum this season?
03:05I felt that earlier and I felt that many times.
03:10What I mainly feel is that I can see, and I hope we will all see this in the results as well,
03:18but I see that we are progressing.
03:20I just had an interview and I said over there as well,
03:23too many times this season I had to play players that were fit when it comes to having no injury,
03:30but were they completely ready for 90 minutes of Premier League intensity?
03:35No, you can ask yourself the question if that was completely true.
03:40And I answer that question with what I say,
03:45so I don't think too many times that wasn't the situation for the amount of games we played.
03:51I'm not talking only about the new players that had to adapt to the Premier League,
03:54we missed out on a lot of players that had injuries either in pre-season or during the season,
03:59and I see now players progressing in terms of their fitness,
04:04and as a result of that in their performances.
04:08So yeah, I think we are definitely making progress.
04:14First of all because players are fitter, more ready for what the demands are.
04:24And that's a good base to start from, and I've seen so many moments in games where we played so well,
04:32but not enough times, 90 minutes.
04:37In terms of that progression as well, without getting too carried away,
04:42I know you're not at the league table just yet,
04:45if you do win this game, you could go top four with it.
04:49Just in terms of that alone, what could that do to the spirit and the feeling around everybody?
04:55I think winning always gives a good feeling and a good spirit for a team
05:00that had so many changes during the summer.
05:04The league table, the first 12, 13, 14, 15 teams are so close to each other
05:14that winning or losing matters a lot, with one exception.
05:18Although a city is coming closer and closer to Arsenal now,
05:21but Arsenal is quite far away from us.
05:25So I think the main thing for us is to build on where we are building on in the last five games.
05:32I think we are, maybe with the exception of Brighton by the way,
05:35because we did concede quite a lot of chances against them,
05:38but for the other games we were solid, defensively.
05:46And that's a good base, combined with that players are getting more and more ready to compete
05:54at Premier League intensity as a group.
05:59So I think we can expect more from us in the upcoming part of the season
06:05than what we've shown before, but I assume that everybody would expect that as well.
06:12Just to add to what you were saying about the group and getting together,
06:17taking away international breaks, this was the first full week that you've had,
06:22full midweek without a game, since back in August.
06:27So what have you been able to do and how helpful has that been for you?
06:32I think it's always helpful for a manager to work on a training pitch with the players,
06:39especially if you bring in players, not all of them but a few of them,
06:43a little bit later in the window with Alex, for example.
06:46He's the best example of that on the 1st of September.
06:49And I think it's also – but you can also influence your players
06:53if you play a game and you do your video meetings,
06:55so it's not an excuse for our results, not at all.
06:57But I would prefer to have more of these weeks than we have,
07:02because it's a way of implementing either new things
07:08or pointing out more and more or stressing on things we have to do better than we did them before.
07:16So, yeah, I liked it. And next week is the same.
07:22So that is almost a pre-season for us.
07:32Ten goals for Hugo Eketike so far,
07:35and there's been quite a variety in the type of finishes that he's applied.
07:39I just wonder if he's surpassed your expectations so far?
07:43No, he didn't. Because we knew what type of player we signed.
07:50I think I said it straight after the game, and this is something I just said as well.
07:55He had to go off, I think, in the Brighton game after 70 minutes,
08:00because he had cramp.
08:02But he did double the amount of work – a little bit exaggerated –
08:05but almost double the amount of work that he did three months ago,
08:08where I also had to take him off with cramp.
08:11But his ability to score, his technique, his speed, all these things,
08:18that's just what he has.
08:20So no one is surprised to see that.
08:22But he improved a lot in terms of how much he runs during a game,
08:30how hard he works.
08:32And that's a big help for the team as well,
08:35because people are focused only on goals.
08:37But he helps us out now defensively as well.
08:40And that is also very important for a No.9.
08:44In the talks I had with him,
08:46I probably spoke more about what I expect from him defensively than offensively,
08:51because offensively he can...
08:53What do you think of that?
08:55Before we signed him, he had no problem with that.
08:58After we signed him, he sometimes felt like,
09:00can we also talk a bit about offence or...?
09:04But there's not so much to talk about offence with him,
09:07because that part of his game is very good.
09:10And defensively I am more and more excited to see what he's doing as well.
09:15And just a quick one on Kanate,
09:17you said a few games ago that he was a bit too much at the scene of the crime for you this season,
09:22I just wonder if you think in recent games he's starting to find his form again?
09:26Yeah, and I added to that,
09:28that for centre-backs that's not an uncommon thing to be on the crime scene
09:32if you concede goals.
09:33But he's been unlucky a few times,
09:37where he played good games in my opinion,
09:40but then a moment decides the game.
09:44Unfortunately we play a low-scoring game, football.
09:53That's the nice thing about football,
09:55that's why teams that are maybe not as good as other teams can still win the game.
10:00In basketball the best team always wins, I think,
10:02because you have so many goals you can score,
10:05but in a low-scoring sport that's more difficult.
10:08And then when you're involved in a moment like Ibu,
10:10it has an immediate impact on the result,
10:12and then of course people are not as positive about that as they maybe should have been,
10:20if you look at his performances.
10:21But recently he's not been on the crime scene,
10:25and that is the way we prefer to see him,
10:28we prefer to see all of our players.
10:30But that's not only about him.
10:32I think he's helped out more recently than before.
10:38So I think we're less vulnerable in certain situations
10:43than we were in other parts of the season,
10:46and that has an immediate impact on centre-backs,
10:49and Ibu is a centre-back especially.
10:52No, let's keep it like this.
10:56If you would have had a bit more hair,
11:14you were Curtis because of the dialect the two of you have.
11:18When you ask a question I have to listen very carefully.
11:22He's done really, really good in the last three games,
11:27and I think that's not the first time.
11:29But maybe since I'm here it's the first time that it's three times in a row
11:34that he brings in very, very, very good performances.
11:37And he's had in the past also very good performances,
11:42and a game later I maybe didn't like the performance as much as I did recently
11:46in his last three games.
11:48So I think it's again a challenge for him to go to the fourth,
11:52to go to the fifth, to go to the sixth game.
11:54But I think I'm not the only one who liked the way he played,
11:57with so much confidence, with so much work rate,
12:00giving it all in every single moment for the team.
12:06And really, really, really comfortable on the ball as well.
12:10So his last three performances are the base,
12:14where we expect him to go on.
12:18But that starts tomorrow against a challenging opponent like Spurs.
12:24Hi, Arnett.
12:27Do you think Don't could play against Spurs?
12:30Would you start him or be more cautious and see how the game goes?
12:35That completely depends how he does today.
12:37So if he can fulfil the whole training session,
12:40and then you speak to the player and to the medical staff,
12:43if the player feels comfortable to play,
12:46and he did all the things he had to do, then he will start.
12:51If he can't fulfil the whole session or he doesn't feel comfortable,
12:55he fulfils it but he doesn't feel comfortable himself,
12:57we will have a discussion.
12:59But Dom has been a starter for me in the one and a half year I'm here now.
13:03And for the performances he's brought in,
13:08he would be a starter tomorrow if he's completely fit.
13:11Mark?
13:13Hi Arnett.
13:14You mentioned the Brighton game and the chances that they were able to create.
13:17I think they had more chances and better chances than Leeds.
13:20They scored three goals and they didn't score eight.
13:23I'm just wondering what you put that down.
13:25You mentioned that the overall fitness of the group has improved.
13:28Do you think maybe there's an element that other teams
13:31will start to have a look at some of the recent changes you've made
13:34and maybe start to find some of the potential with points in it?
13:39That is a question only the future can answer.
13:42The last part of your question.
13:43The first part of your question is I think we've conceded against Brighton
13:46more chances than the four games combined.
13:51So that also tells you how well we did in the four games before that.
13:55I think not many teams have kept Inter and Milan in their own stadium
14:00away from any danger at all.
14:02One chance, one header from Martinez.
14:06So, yeah, they arrived a lot of times in the second half in our 18-yard box
14:12and created very good moments.
14:15But we have to understand and know that we created a lot against them as well.
14:20So, again, it was the balance where the games before we didn't create that much.
14:23Now we've created more but conceded more as well in the second half mainly.
14:28First half a very good performance from us on the ball.
14:33I don't think we gave away a lot in the first half, but the second half the game was more open.
14:39On both ends there were a lot of nice situations in both boxes.
14:43But that is also due to the fact that Brighton has, I've said this before,
14:51always a very good playing plan, a very good idea of how they want to play,
14:54but also very good players and very good players coming off the bench.
14:58So, I don't know if you liked Mithoma seeing that he came in.
15:02In every other game I would like it, but if he plays against us,
15:05I prefer to see him sitting on the bench because he's one of the very good players they have.
15:11Do you feel like you're getting closer to that balance between being able to be effective in attack
15:16and without giving away a lot of other chances?
15:19You mentioned the fact that in previous games there was less attack and less defense,
15:23and this game was a bit more effective.
15:25Do you feel like you're getting closer to that balance of being able to be good in one end?
15:29Yeah, I think we are getting closer and closer to the team I want us to be,
15:36and that has gone with ups and downs, let's be completely clear about that.
15:43But for me that makes complete sense because of all the changes we've made during the summer,
15:49and we made them on purpose because we thought we needed to,
15:52and if I'm completely honest maybe I didn't expect it to take maybe as long as it did,
15:57but looking back and reflecting on it now I think I've been too positive
16:02because if you go with a new group where not all of them are completely ready
16:06to play every single game 90 minutes in this intensity, you have to adapt.
16:10Sometimes he can play, then he cannot play, so it takes maybe a bit of time,
16:13and we've been very unlucky, unlucky with referee decisions.
16:18I've said this multiple times, even Saturday when I said afterwards
16:22that the referee was completely neutral.
16:24I missed out on a red card.
16:29So another influential decision, but this time it didn't hurt us,
16:34and we have to go to that situation.
16:36If a referee decision is against it doesn't matter, we are still good enough to win.
16:39If we concede a set-piece, no problem, we're still able to win.
16:42So a set-piece is another thing, I think from almost all the losses that we've had,
16:46except for one maybe, in all the other ones we've conceded a set-piece.
16:50And that shouldn't influence our result anymore, and that's why we have to improve,
16:57that we don't depend as much on luck or bad luck,
17:01because we are in that mix too many times from the start of the season,
17:05because we were a few times lucky maybe in the start when we scored late goal winners.
17:09We deserve those wins, but still we're small margins,
17:13and we have to make sure that this team gets to a level that either referee decisions
17:18or set-pieces doesn't influence our results as many as they've done.
17:24Let's see.
17:26Hello.
17:27Hello.
17:28Reach a plane!
17:29I will call a
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