- 8 hours ago
Liverpool boss Arne Slot on the issue of racism in football, the fitness of key players and their recent form ahead of their Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest
AXA Training Centre, Liverpool, UK
AXA Training Centre, Liverpool, UK
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00:00Oh, lost your phone, yeah, that's Fennec, yeah.
00:06Arnold, first of all, I just wanted to start with the Champions League
00:09and obviously the accusation of racist abuse that Vinicius Junior put forward.
00:17Obviously, looking at those scenes, is enough being done to combat racism,
00:21and when you see scenes like that as well,
00:22what discussion is it provoking in your own dressing room
00:25in terms of maybe advice to your players if they were to face a similar situation?
00:31I think in general you can never do enough, you can always do more,
00:35and we should always try to do more to make sure this never happens again,
00:40and that's what I mean in general.
00:44So I think we have to try as a football world, a football community,
00:48to do more than society does, that's maybe not so difficult by the way,
00:55and I think protocol has been followed during the game,
00:58so that's the first step now.
01:00And I think the football world reacted as you expected to react,
01:04and I'm trying to do the same now.
01:05We can never do enough or too much.
01:07We can do enough, but we can never do too much, no.
01:10In terms of advice to your players, if they face a similar situation?
01:14I would hope they act in a similar way, so immediately address it,
01:19and I would hope that the referee who's in charge then acts in the same way,
01:24and then protocols need to be followed,
01:26and because it's under investigation I cannot say too much about that situation,
01:29but in general, as I said, we can never do too much.
01:32Obviously, in the Premier League last night we saw how difficult it can be
01:36against anyone to take all three points.
01:39How much, though, when you look at your own form at the moment,
01:42and other confidence boosting the victory over Brighton,
01:47how much of a better place are you in now, do you think,
01:49compared to maybe a few weeks ago and after the defeat of Bournemouth?
01:53No, compared to a few weeks ago I don't think a lot has changed.
01:59I think we've now, from the last 19 games, we've lost twice,
02:03and twice we've lost an extra time.
02:05And in my opinion, twice, we did not deserve to lose both of those games.
02:15Yeah, we didn't need yesterday to know how difficult it is to win a Premier League game.
02:19We've experienced this this season already a lot of times,
02:23and I think all the teams experienced it.
02:27That's what made the Premier League nicer this season and last season,
02:31that it's much more competitive than probably two, three, four, five, six years ago.
02:38So, yeah, we've improved compared to three or four months ago,
02:43but I think last, even as weird as it may sound, include the Bournemouth game,
02:49because apart from the goals we conceded, we had total control with dominance,
02:54created a lot of chances.
02:57And the same could be said in the second half about City.
02:59So, we're in a much better place now than we were months ago,
03:03and there's a very simple reason for that.
03:05Two more reasons, but the most simple two are how fit we are now,
03:10compared with three or four months ago.
03:11And the second one is that we are much better in set-pieces at the moment.
03:17When you say experience this season as well, against Forest at home,
03:21and obviously now they're under different management,
03:23so what are your expectations?
03:28Back then they were in a different management as well,
03:31because Sandeis was, I think, his third, fourth game,
03:34I don't know exactly anymore.
03:36But, yeah, that makes it sometimes a little bit more difficult,
03:42because we only have tonight to see if this manager changes personnel,
03:50changes his tactics.
03:52The good thing is that there is still one game to be played before we play them,
03:56and we of course know him because he worked last season in the Premier League as well.
04:00But, usually you also adapt to the players you have,
04:05although managers have a preferred playing style,
04:08you take into account which players you have as well.
04:11So, let's see.
04:12It has been a difficult game for us in the beginning of the season,
04:17although, again I'm going to say the same,
04:19first half-hour was very, very good from us,
04:22chance after chance,
04:23and then we conceded a set-piece and the game went completely the opposite way.
04:29So, we know what we can expect if we play Forest,
04:34because I've played them three times already.
04:40Quick is difficult, but...
04:50Jeremy will not be involved this weekend yet, we hope he will be involved next week.
04:59If things go as planned.
05:01And I think it was mostly along with Alex and Daryl?
05:06No, no, no.
05:08Wata will be out for a long time, as I said earlier.
05:11We don't know exactly how long, but long.
05:15And Alex, I think he's been on the pitch now,
05:18not with his football shoes but with his running shoes for the first time this week.
05:23So, that will still take a while as well before he's ready to play for us again.
05:28Is Joe ready to start off?
05:31Yeah, I think he is.
05:35And I believe that the lads had a few days off this week.
05:40Did you have a few days off? Did you need a few days off?
05:44I think if there's a difference between players and managers is that
05:47if players have days off, they also prepare their body and these kind of things,
05:51but they're probably not thinking every second of the day about Forest.
05:55If managers have a day off or two days off,
05:57they do think about their next meeting and the next opponent they will play.
06:01But it's always nice in my situation to go home to see the family,
06:07because they're not always around with me.
06:09So, yeah, it was nice and useful,
06:13because I think the players we are having,
06:17nine out of ten, go to the national team,
06:19so I think for seven or eight months they've hardly been any days off.
06:24And when you can give them a few days off,
06:26which is not common in our schedule,
06:29it's necessary for them to have them in the best possible way Sunday,
06:35but also in the weeks after.
06:37Did you need that?
06:39No, no, no.
06:41Not needed it, no.
06:42No, I think maybe if you ask me the same question a month it's different,
06:49but it was nice to have a few days off,
06:52but I did not really need it,
06:57because last season I felt I needed it more maybe in this period of time,
07:01or it was February, half March.
07:05No, I'm enjoying the work I do over here.
07:07I enjoy to work with the players, I enjoy to work with the staff.
07:10So, no, I couldn't say I really needed it, but it's nice to have it.
07:15Hi, Alan.
07:16I was just going to check on Alexander as well,
07:19but just in terms of him being able to get a training kit on again
07:22and come in and do a bit of work,
07:23how much is that a boost for him mentally,
07:27just to be around football again?
07:30Yeah, I'm not sure if I educate you now,
07:32but it's not before they go on the pitch
07:34that they are just laying in bed 24 hours a day.
07:38They also come to the training ground and do their gym work
07:40and do their rehab already.
07:44But I think it's nice for him to go on the pitch,
07:47it's nice for us to see him there,
07:48because there is still enough work to be done,
07:51but you do know as a player you arrive in the final stages of your rehab,
07:55where as long as you're in the gym and you're not on the pitch yet,
07:58that's not the nicest part.
08:00But the next step is of course doing ball with the work,
08:03which every player likes most,
08:05and then the next step is going into the group,
08:08and then it takes a while before you're ready to play.
08:10But it's nice that rehab goes well,
08:15that's a compliment for him but also to our medical staff.
08:17And you must feel that if he is able to get back and play it,
08:21but crucially have a good pre-season as well,
08:24which is what he missed last year.
08:27Is that going to give you a fresh start for you and for him next season?
08:32No, that's going to give us a different player than we've had till now,
08:36but we're also expecting a different player in the end of the season
08:40than the one we had in the first part,
08:42which makes complete sense because I've said it a hundred times, I think,
08:46that we have to give him time.
08:48If a player has been out for four or five months only with individual training,
08:52you cannot expect, if at the level we are playing here,
08:56that he's up to speed straight away.
09:00So unfortunately for him and for us, we haven't used the best Alex yet,
09:05but this club and our fans will see the best Alex hopefully this season,
09:10but for sure in the upcoming years.
09:15Do you have a better idea of a timescale and when you expect him to be able to rejoin the
09:20squad?
09:22Yes and no, I think we all know the moment you go onto the pitch it doesn't take three months
09:28anymore,
09:28but these final stages of rehab are also the ones that can make things change.
09:34So in the gym you can hardly do too much.
09:38And in this stage you constantly have to wait and see if you tick the next box,
09:42the next box, the next box.
09:44But where are we now? Half March.
09:49So let's not put a timescale on it,
09:52but it's clear that he will be available if things go as planned.
09:58This season.
10:00That's still not right.
10:02I know I'm pretty down to it.
10:05The initial thoughts were it was going to be March time anyway,
10:09so I'll also try and push on this,
10:11but do you think before the international break?
10:14Are you asking this for the Swedish national team coach?
10:18No, you can ask your own question.
10:20It will be somewhere around there and then it's always the question
10:24if things go really well or if he gets a little bit of a setback,
10:27so it will be around that period of time, end of March, start of April,
10:35where he's hopefully back with the group.
10:37When you're back with the group it's not to say that you are ready to play,
10:43let alone start a game of football,
10:45because again he's been out for months and the last time he's been out for months,
10:48I think we could all see that it took him a while before he was the player we've signed from
10:55Newcastle.
10:56Maria?
10:57Hi, Ernest.
10:58Hi.
10:59Compared to other days, maybe, I underlined maybe,
11:02you have plenty of options when playing the team,
11:05because you have Joe Gomez, perhaps Curtis Jones,
11:08in the right position,
11:10you rested Ryan Ravenberg against Brighton.
11:13So, in this situation, what is your plan to play Dominic against Nathingen,
11:25given the fact that he formed a formidable pairing with Michael Ester and he reached two bigger goals?
11:32First of all, the question is if he starts,
11:34and then if he starts, in which position he starts?
11:37No, but I think I'm not going to tell you now in which position he's going to play.
11:43I agree with you, he played a good game in the midfield,
11:45the week before he played a very good game as a full-back,
11:48and the week before that he played probably in another position where he played really well.
11:51He has played really well for us throughout the whole season in all the positions,
11:55and that's not a coincidence because he's a good player,
11:57and a good player with all the qualities he has can play in multiple positions,
12:02and I have to find the right position for him,
12:05but also what's best for the team, to play him.
12:12Can you just ask about Georgie Manadastri,
12:15because maybe a little bit surprised that he didn't play on Saturday,
12:19what's the intention between now and the end of the season?
12:22Did you get into opportunities in the court,
12:25or is it just waiting to leave against that challenge?
12:32For me it wasn't a surprise because last season we made a different choice,
12:39by the way, in the FA Cup, that's true,
12:41but usually for me the League Cup is for the second-choice goalkeeper,
12:47and in the FA Cup I just decided at the moment in the first game he played,
12:53because Ali also came back from an injury and I think Georgie needed a game,
12:58and maybe it was a bit too much for Ali at that moment of time to play another game,
13:01so I just judged it the same way as I judged the football players the other ten,
13:09what is best for the team and for the individual,
13:14and in this situation I decided to play Ali again,
13:19which was of course also a disappointment for Georgie,
13:22because Georgie is a very good goalkeeper,
13:23has done really well for us when he had to come in for Ali when Ali was injured,
13:29but I think you could see at my line-up that I mainly played the starters,
13:33and that also means that I played the starters in goal,
13:37but how that will look in the next game that I cannot tell you now.
13:41James?
13:43Arne, you mentioned the improvement in set-pieces,
13:45it's been a couple of months since there was the change in the coaching set-up,
13:49is it yourself having a bigger say in set-piece routines?
13:53Is it Sitka or Giovanni? How is it working?
13:56No, I think I'm happy that you asked that question,
14:00because it would be very unfair to Aaron,
14:03who was partly responsible for that,
14:06because in the end I'm responsible for everything,
14:08so it's always my end-responsibility,
14:12but we've been in that period of time so, so, so unlucky.
14:16We all knew that it couldn't go on like that,
14:19because we hardly gave away a chance in set-pieces,
14:22but every ball went in,
14:23and we created multiple opportunities to score,
14:27and the ball didn't go in,
14:28so that things go back to normal now is something which we expected,
14:34and Aaron had an analyst,
14:38and the two of them were mainly responsible for it,
14:41in the end I'm responsible,
14:42but they did the work,
14:44and that hasn't changed,
14:46so Lewis does the main thing,
14:51the main work,
14:52if you would call it like this,
14:53and we have a meeting together,
14:56and we look at the last details,
14:57but in general we did not change that much,
15:00we maybe made one or two slight changes,
15:04but we didn't change as much,
15:05what changed is things went back to normal,
15:08because in the Premier League,
15:09when Aaron was with us,
15:10we were already very good,
15:12oh, sorry,
15:12not in the Premier League,
15:13in the Champions League,
15:14we were already number one in set-pieces,
15:20so I would mainly say things went back to normal,
15:22and we've adjusted one or two small things.
15:25Are you still looking to bring someone else in,
15:27or are you happy with what things are?
15:29At the moment we're happy with the way things are,
15:31but as it is with players,
15:32we're always looking if we can strengthen either the staff or the squad,
15:38so we always keep our eyes open,
15:39but at this moment I don't expect any change today or tomorrow.
15:47Goals scoring has improved in recent weeks,
15:49I think it's 20 goals in the last seven games,
15:51nine consecutive games in which you've scored at least once,
15:54which is the best run of the season.
15:56Do you think anything in particular has changed,
15:58or is it just sometimes luck when it comes to shooting?
16:01I know you said a few weeks ago you agreed with some of the people
16:04who said that Liverpool weren't as entertaining as they could be,
16:08do you think that that's also changed?
16:10I didn't agree with you if you put it that way,
16:13but the teams we faced weren't as entertaining as the teams we've recently faced,
16:19so it will never be about us if a game is entertaining, yes or no.
16:24That is at least my take.
16:26We always try to press, we always try to bring the ball out from the back,
16:29we always want to entertain,
16:30we don't always succeed in that,
16:34and if we don't, sometimes it's about us,
16:36because we just don't execute things well enough,
16:40but it's mainly because the teams we are facing don't want an entertaining game,
16:45which is completely fair.
16:46I'm not debating that or arguing that,
16:49I would probably do the same if I have to play Liverpool.
16:54But I think also there, which is a boring answer again,
16:57things go back to normal.
16:58So for such a large part of the season where we've lost games or drew games,
17:02we did not deserve at all to draw or lose that game.
17:08The amount of times that we've created so many chances,
17:11more than enough to score one, two or three goals, has been a lot.
17:17And you could argue if we created so many chances against Brighton,
17:22but we scored three.
17:24And sometimes that happens in the season as well,
17:26where it also happens that you create a lot and you don't score.
17:29But that last thing happened a bit too much with us.
17:32Things went a bit more back to normal, I think, recently.
17:37And you can see that now in the results as well.
17:43You're welcome.
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