- 2 days ago
Liverpool boss Arne Slot on Mo Salah's criticism of his style of play and the challenges of the final Premier League game of the season against Brentford
AXA Training Centre, Liverpool, UK
AXA Training Centre, Liverpool, UK
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00:00Yeah, sure.
00:02I'll start with the comments that Mo Salah made on social media.
00:08You and the word Mo is a combination over the last two years.
00:13How do you feel about what he had to say after the third game?
00:16I suppose what conversations have you had with him since then?
00:20No, I don't think it's that important what I feel about it.
00:23What is important is that we qualify for Champions League Sunday
00:27and I prepare Mo and all of the rest in the best possible way in the whole team
00:32to be ready for the game on Sunday and that is what matters.
00:35I was very disappointed after our loss against Villa
00:40because a win would have given us qualification for Champions League,
00:44which we didn't, and now there's one game to go,
00:48which is a vital one for us as a club.
00:50Those comments though are seen as a personal criticism of yourself.
00:57So taking that into mind and also given the fact that after the Leeds game this season
01:01when he gave an interview, he was then subsequently left out of the team.
01:06What impact have those comments had on you, on the group at a time when
01:11not only do you still need to get over the line in terms of Champions League qualification,
01:14there's also a farewell to Mo and a farewell to Andy,
01:19therefore was there any chance that Mo could have been left out of the squad this weekend?
01:24Again, that's a lot of questions in one question.
01:28The impact, I don't know if it had impact on the group,
01:32but what I've seen is that the team trained really well this week
01:38and we hope to continue really well in the upcoming two days,
01:40so we're in the best possible way prepared.
01:44I think Mo and I have both the same interest,
01:46we want the best for this club, we want the club to be as successful as possible.
01:50We were both part of giving our fans their first league title again after five years,
01:56but we're also aware, all of us, that we didn't brought the same level this season.
02:01What we want, what he wants, what I want is the club to be as successful as we were last
02:07season,
02:09and that is where my main focus is on now,
02:12because the game on Sunday could give us a really good base going into next season,
02:18and that is where we should focus on.
02:22And Mo would that be a goal?
02:24I never say anything about a team selection,
02:28so it would be a surprise to you if I did that right now, I think.
02:32Just finally though, the scenario is facing yourself,
02:34win, potentially finish fourth,
02:36and that could also see a Champions League place drop to six on the table as well,
02:40but ultimately I guess it's all about you guys and finishing the season in the right way?
02:44Yeah, there are a lot of ifs in that scenario,
02:47but we know what we need to do, we need to win, we need to have a draw,
02:50and otherwise we still have an acceptable goal difference.
02:54But I think we would like to give our fans a nice way of ending this season,
03:02because there have been far too many disappointments this season for us,
03:07and with us I mean the club, so that includes the fans,
03:11and that includes us as a staff and players as well.
03:15So we want to end, of course, with a win,
03:18knowing that Brentford is playing for something really important for them as well.
03:23But that's where our main focus has been on after the Villa game,
03:28to be in the best possible place possible for Sunday.
03:35Obviously you've got a game to win,
03:37the Champions League qualification is secure,
03:39but are you looking forward to this season ending,
03:43and really starting afresh with a black sheet of paper?
03:48I think usually in the end of a season you're looking forward to it to end,
03:55because it's usually been a long season, especially if you work in England.
03:59There are a lot of games.
04:02But maybe last season I wouldn't have mind if it kept on going,
04:06because it was quite nice after we won the league,
04:07we had a few games to play.
04:09But still then you feel like, OK, enough is enough.
04:12Now it's going on a holiday, and then prepare for the next season.
04:16And as I said, I'm looking forward to Sunday,
04:21because that's a vital game for us.
04:22But I'm also looking forward to next season,
04:24to continue to evolve this team that's, as I've said many times,
04:29in a transition, and that will not stop during this summer.
04:32Are the plans in full swing for next season for recruitment and handling,
04:36or does it depend a little bit on where you finish,
04:39whether you're definitely in the Champions League big time?
04:42Yeah, it does. That has impact.
04:45As I said, over the course of three, four months now,
04:48every time when someone asks me about qualification for the Champions League,
04:53yes, it has impact at this club on our plans.
04:56That is definitely true.
05:00Just following on from that, obviously one game to go,
05:03you're in a great position now to qualify for the Champions League,
05:06but you want next season to be better.
05:09So have your footballing philosophies, if you like, been tested this season
05:14to the point where you feel that there needs to be a reset
05:17and a different approach?
05:20What do you exactly mean with tested?
05:24Would that be different next season?
05:28Would that be a kind of a reset to the way you drove up there?
05:31No, not a reset, but football has evolved, football has changed.
05:36I think, first of all, I'm hoping someone would have asked me that question at the start,
05:41but let me, in this position, congratulate Arsenal by winning the league, the club,
05:48Miguel and his staff, for a great accomplishment.
05:52Winning the league here in England is never easy,
05:54and they've done a tremendous job this season.
05:59So congratulations to them.
06:02But for me they've been a different champion than the last ten seasons.
06:07The last ten seasons this league has been won by other teams.
06:13First of all, because it's the first time in 30 years that a team,
06:1740 per cent of his goals they had from set pieces.
06:21I think Luis Enrique said, and I completely agree with him,
06:24they are maybe by far the best team of the ball in our league, but I also think in Europe.
06:32So football has changed, has evolved, and we have to make sure we are able,
06:39next season again, to compete with Arsenal and with City again,
06:44with our own brand of football.
06:46And we have to find the right balance in that,
06:48but we have to know and understand that football has changed, football has evolved.
06:52We saw this weekend also, this week also again with Vela,
06:55that scored the first two goals, the first one from a set piece,
06:59and the second one in the second phase set piece.
07:01So we have to take that into account,
07:04but we also have to take into account that we play a style,
07:08a brand of football that our fans like,
07:10as long as that goes together with competing for the trophies we want to compete for.
07:14I was going to ask you about Virgil, your captain who goes into this game,
07:18having played every minute of the Premier League season so far,
07:22how important has he been to you, that level of consistency and fitness,
07:28from on and off of you?
07:29Yeah, that's a great accomplishment.
07:32It's not as simple as people might think.
07:34Playing every game in a league like this is already a great accomplishment,
07:40let alone if you are of his age.
07:41But it also tells you maybe something about how our season has gone,
07:46and I mean that in terms of injuries and players available.
07:49Because I think if I would have had always all the players available,
07:52I would have rested him once or twice as well.
07:55And I wasn't able to.
07:56The good thing is, I didn't need to,
07:58because I could every time play and that is unbelievable.
08:01Especially because it's been a season with so many setbacks,
08:04so it's much easier for a player to stay fit if things go well, like last season.
08:09I think he only missed one game after we won the league.
08:13I didn't play him against Brighton.
08:17But in a season where we've had so many setbacks,
08:19so many disappointments,
08:21it's even a bigger accomplishment to stay fit and stay available,
08:26even more at his age.
08:27Although the way he takes care of his body,
08:30he's probably younger than his age tells us.
08:35Paul?
08:37Sorry to go back to the moment again,
08:39but I just wanted to ask you,
08:40when a player conducts that publicly in terms of wanting to play a certain style
08:46which is not your style,
08:49does that undermine what you're trying to do with the squad on the training ground?
08:55Yeah, you are doing a lot of assumptions.
08:58First of all, you say that he wants to play that style,
09:02and then say that it's not my style.
09:05I think Mo was really happy with the style we played last season,
09:10and our fans as well, because that led to us winning the league.
09:13And I've just said that football has changed, football has evolved.
09:17But we both again want what's best for Liverpool,
09:20and that's for us to compete for trophies,
09:24which we haven't done this season,
09:26and which we've done last season.
09:30He and the team, and I was included in that,
09:33brought the league title back after five years.
09:36And we would like to challenge for that again next season,
09:40and continue to evolve the team.
09:43So that is my take on it.
09:47And notwithstanding the issues you've had,
09:49which have restricted time on the play,
09:52do you think the style has changed last season for this season?
09:56I think football has changed, and I've said this now many times.
09:59So if you play football, you're not the only team on the pitch.
10:02You play against another team.
10:05And football has changed.
10:06I think we can all see this.
10:08I see this every single game.
10:10I can go back to it.
10:11Let's take the game we play in the weekend against Brentford.
10:14I saw City, which is still for me one of the teams
10:17that plays a very nice football,
10:20but it took them 60 minutes before they had their first chance.
10:23And then they scored 1-0 from a set-piece, by the way.
10:27Jeremy Diakou had a great 1v1 action
10:29and hit the ball in the top corner.
10:31And afterwards, Brentford were a few times really close
10:33of scoring the 1-1.
10:35Penalty incident, which was really close.
10:37And I think four, five, six years ago,
10:40City against Brentford would have been a 5-6-7 or 8-0 win for City.
10:45But that's not the reality of the league anymore.
10:49This league has become so strong that football has changed.
10:53But we have to find that right balance of still being able to compete,
10:59but definitely also play the brand and the style of football the fans want to see.
11:03and I want my team to play.
11:10Hi, Armin. You talked a little bit about set-pieces again.
11:13Let's talk about defending set-pieces.
11:15Because Liverpool have been seeded in open set-pieces in the last three games.
11:19Yeah.
11:20Coming up against the Brentford side, you just said,
11:22I think more of their shots come from set-pieces than anything else.
11:26If you remember the first game of the season against Brentford,
11:29they scored from set-pieces within five minutes.
11:31Yeah.
11:31So when it comes to defending set-pieces,
11:33what do you think the thing that the team are lacking the most this season?
11:37Organization, desire, focus, what do you think the key problem is?
11:44It's not so easy to find one answer because set-pieces come in different fashions.
11:49They come from corner kicks, they come from free kicks and they come from throw-ins.
11:52So we have to go into every single one of them to see where we had to do better.
11:57In general, I think I can safely say that we are not the tallest
12:02and the strongest team set-piece-wise, so mainly my two centre-backs are they.
12:09They are always very good headers, but that's for every team,
12:12but other teams usually have one of the two full-backs that are really tall,
12:17or a No. 9 or a No. 6, that's a real powerhouse in defending set-pieces.
12:25So this is something we are now even more aware of than last season,
12:32but that's also, as I said, because the league evolved in a certain way.
12:37And these are also things we take into account
12:41if we are trying to evolve the team towards next season.
12:46Hi, Arne.
12:52I think you're not going to ask me about Mo Salah.
12:56You've loved the whole season. I asked you about the Hungarian players,
12:59and I'm so grateful for all of your answers.
13:06You could do it like this as well, Vinny, yeah?
13:10I would like to evaluate their performance throughout the year, please.
13:16Their performance?
13:18Armin has not played for us, as you know,
13:21but he's developed really good at the training round.
13:26This is also what we had in mind for him, to be with the team, with the first team,
13:29develop him by Xavi Valera, who is a very good goalkeeper-coach.
13:37So he's in a good place going into next season.
13:41Then, of course, there's Miloš, our full-back, who has played a lot of games,
13:47has improved during this season.
13:49It's never easy for a new player to come in in a team that's not performing
13:52at the levels they were performing last season.
13:55But I think he's 21, maybe 22 now, but I think when we signed him,
13:59for sure 21.
14:00For a young player like him making the step from Bournemouth towards Liverpool
14:05playing Champions League and Premier League football,
14:08we are really happy with his development.
14:10And he needs to make the next step next season.
14:15And I think a great example for talking about development
14:18and talking about becoming better after one, two, three seasons
14:21of playing Premier League football is Dominic Soboslai.
14:24He's an example for all of us, but definitely also for Miloš.
14:28So his first season was good, his second season was very good,
14:33and this season, although the team played far from excellent,
14:37I think it's fair to say that he had an excellent season.
14:40Do you see Dominic as a potential team captain in the near future?
14:45No, Virgil is with us next season, so let's not look ahead too far,
14:51but he's the captain for the national team,
14:53so that already tells you that he has it in him.
14:56But as I said, Virgil is still here next season.
15:00And the future of a manager is usually only three days.
15:06So looking even further than his season, that's a bit too much.
15:11You're welcome.
15:12James.
15:14As everyone knows, there's a lot of talk about it,
15:17and obviously you've got a certain player in the post and what that means.
15:21Do you feel that you haven't been on the train,
15:24and you still have their complete buy-in and their complete support?
15:32Yeah, social media came when I was already a little bit older,
15:35so as people know I'm not involved in social media,
15:39so I don't really know the understanding of what it exactly means,
15:43if you like a post, yes or no.
15:47What I do know, and that is my world,
15:50and that is to see how they train,
15:52and I haven't seen anything different compared to the rest of the season.
15:55We've had a good week, and it's never easy after another disappointment at Villa
16:00and going into the last week of the season.
16:03Out of experience, I know that's usually not the most simple week,
16:07but we've trained, the boys trained really well,
16:10and I'm expecting them to do the same in the upcoming two days.
16:14James?
16:15What's the situation with ISAC and Alison?
16:20Ali will train with us today, so that's positive.
16:24Alex trains for the first time with us today,
16:27part of what we are going to do,
16:29so yeah, to a certain extent both positive.
16:38Yeah, that's actually it.
16:55I think I constantly say the same,
16:57we both want what's best for the club,
16:59we both want the club to be successful,
17:04and that's the main aim,
17:05and I have to find a way to evolve this team now,
17:12but definitely in the summer and the upcoming season,
17:14to be successful again and to play a brand of football that I like,
17:20and if I like it then the fans will like it as well,
17:22because I haven't liked a lot of the way we played this season as well.
17:28There were far too many games where we dominated ball possession,
17:31but it didn't lead to anything special or any moments.
17:35But again, that's also the way the league has evolved,
17:40because in general we don't see the 3-4-5-6-0 games anymore.
17:47It's a close game every single time,
17:49not only with us any single game,
17:54but we try to evolve the team in a way, as I said,
17:58that we can compete,
18:00but definitely also play the brand of football,
18:02the style of football, the fans,
18:05I and hopefully Mo if he's somewhere else at that moment of time will like as well.
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