Arne Slot has been involved in the discussions about Liverpool’s pre-season tour and the summer recruitment. And a year ago, that sentence would have been utterly unremarkable, a statement of the obvious. Now the context is different. A season of speculation has stemmed more from results and a feeling among the fanbase than Slot himself or his employers. They, with their preference for silence, have said very little. But their inactivity has been an indication that Slot remains their choice and he said: “I have every reason to believe I am the Liverpool manager next season.”
Another reason may have come from Chelsea: not Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with the London club last week, in which Slot’s decision to substitute a cramping Rio Ngumoha was booed, but from their move for Xabi Alonso. The former Liverpool midfielder may be the popular choice to succeed Slot with the Anfield crowd; the evidence, though, is that even the prospect of him going to a rival club has not tempted the Liverpool hierarchy to intervene and jettison the Dutchman.
Meanwhile, Slot himself has remained steadfast. Liverpool have had a troubled campaign. They have lost 18 times, nine of them in a 12-game sequence. Slot has never wanted to walk away. “I have always wanted to carry on and I have never once thought what you are suggesting because I think this club is in a much better place next season than this season, because of what I have already said 150 times,” he said.
A manager whose career had been on an upward trajectory has experienced a rare downturn. He is unaccustomed to it. He will end this season empty-handed but nevertheless still has objectives, in part because Liverpool have not guaranteed a top-five finish.
“Even this season there was a lot to play for,” he said. “Two months ago we lost to Paris Saint-Germain and [Manchester] City and that was the first time we were not able to win anything anymore. But we can still ‘win’ qualification for the Champions League. It is the first time in my career that I am not in the end playing for a trophy. Only once I didn’t win something, so now it is going to be the second year. That is going to be a bit new. But until two months ago we were still fighting for things. So, no, not once did that [walking away] go through my mind.”
Slot often projects an air of calm. That can perhaps help produce continuity. But a season of a £450m spend, a Mohamed Salah attack on his own manager, a title defence that ended in autumn and a side with myriad issues, from injuries to conceding late goals to a lack of urgency and struggling signings has brought questions if there should be change in the dugout.
Liverpool’s season has not gone the way they had expected including Mohamed Salah’s departure this summer (PA Wire)
“It is all about you guys who are talking about this and probably social media even more,” Slot rationalised. “It is not something I am talking about every day. I am talking about [Friday’s game against] Aston Villa. For me, nothing has changed. What has changed is the results. My relationship with the people I speak to every single day has not changed a single bit. I don’t know how I have to describe it in the perfect way.”
Slot was the choice of director of football Richard Hughes and Fenway Sports Group, headhunted from Feyenoord. He looked an inspired choice when he won the Premier League in his debut campaign. After the bouquets, however, have come the brickbats. Slot believes he has been able to handle the flack that has come his way.
“I always have to ask myself, ‘how old am I exactly?’ I think I am 47, so I am not 12 anymore,” he said. “I have been playing professional football since I was 16, maybe not at the level I am at here now, but I am used to the fact that people sometimes think you are a very good football player and sometimes don’t like you so much.
Liverpool’s summer signings, such as Alexander Isak, have not settled this year leading to a downturn in results (Getty)
“It is the same as a manager. If you are in this job then you don’t usually start your career at a club like this, you have a lead up to that. So we are all so used to positive and negative criticism that if you are not able to handle that, you will never end up at a club like this. I think that is also one of the things I have learned this season that I can handle criticism quite well. I don’t act differently. I can have a clear mind and do the things I want to do.”
His argument has long been that next year will be better than this, but he accepted Liverpool have gone in the wrong direction. “We are further away than last season,” he said of his ideal vision of the team. But he sees himself at Anfield again next year, aiming to get closer again.
