Liverpool’s objectives for Arne Slot’s first season in charge

National World - LocalTV

A look at the season objectives for LFC.

Transcript

00:00Well, looking at Liverpool and Arnie Slott obviously coming in, huge expectations will

00:06be there following on from, obviously, the success of Jurgen Klopp, which some fans and

00:12obviously pundits see as Liverpool's greatest hero in a very, very long time at least. So

00:18what should his expectations be? Are they clear yet? And have they been set? Obviously,

00:24he's had his first press conference.

00:27Yeah, he held his first press conference last week. He spoke well. I mean, to be honest

00:33with you, it's a new manager not to speak well, to be honest with you. To be quite frank,

00:37him and the new Sporting Director, Richard Hughes, he gave the answers that you would

00:42expect, really. And look, I think the position that Liverpool are in, he needs to just carry

00:49on the work that Jurgen Klopp has put down, to be quite frank. I mean, the expectation

00:54of Jurgen Klopp every year wasn't, let's go and win three, four trophies. It was, what

00:58can we do? Can we challenge Man City? Can we challenge for silverware? And Arnie Slott,

01:05that would be his remit as well, because Liverpool have got themselves into a position as a club

01:10where they're back at the top of the European elite, increased their revenues, manifold

01:19and have attracted top players to the club. And that's where Liverpool need to stay now,

01:24because they obviously had that period after the dominance in the 80s where they were in

01:30the doldrums somewhat, because a lot of fans would love to be in Liverpool's position.

01:36But for a club of Liverpool's stature, it wasn't good enough, that mid-90s period. And

01:43then the early 2000s, there was a little bit of success in the Champions League, but then

01:48again after that, it wasn't great. So, that's where Liverpool need to stay now, and that's

01:53what Arnie Slott will be saying. He'll be saying, get us in the top four every year

01:56is a minimum. And that's a challenge in itself, because we know that Chelsea are going to

02:00be coming next year, Tottenham are going to improve, Newcastle are going to be better,

02:04Aston Villa are there now, so that's a big challenge. And a challenge for silverware

02:08as well. The bar's been set, Jurgen Klopp's won two Carabao Cups, he got to a final of

02:14where he won the FA Cup. And Liverpool fans, I don't think they're in a position where

02:20they scoff at domestic trophies. Everyone wants to get them, and the dominance of Man City,

02:26the Premier League sometimes, you've got to be realistic and think, well, if we can't

02:29win the Premier League, we still want to win a trophy. So, yeah, look, Arnie Slott's come

02:33out and says he thinks he can challenge Manchester City, might be a little bit more difficult

02:38than he expects once he gets into it. But yeah, pretty much where Liverpool are, they

02:43can't afford to drop the standards.

02:45And obviously, making the return to the Champions League, it's not as simple as just going

02:50on and saying they can go all the way in that competition. What's a realistic aim for them

02:56in the Champions League? They obviously want to get through to those latter stages and

03:00certainly through their group.

03:02Yeah, well, it's different formats, isn't it? This year with the big league table and

03:07playing eight games rather than six in that. As you say, getting through is really important

03:16just because the revenue streams as well that come from the Champions League. Even winning

03:20your group games, even if they're effectively debt rubbers, I think the Champions League

03:26group game win has been something like three million pounds. That's a lot of money, isn't

03:30it? So, the revenues are going to go up significantly compared to the Europa League during 2023-24.

03:37But it's difficult in the Champions League because the group games, you can almost rotate.

03:44It depends on who you draw a lot of the time. But once you get through, can Liverpool find

03:50that balance of being able to play twice a week the top teams? Because even in the Europa

03:55League, they were able to rotate, make wholesale changes to the team.

04:01I think if Liverpool get to the quarter-finals, they might be happy, but it depends on who

04:07they draw as well and what happens, what game they're at home for, etc. Obviously, Liverpool

04:12have got a lot of history in the Champions League, some superb under Jürgen Klopp in

04:18it. I think Arne Slott has got a good reputation in Europe as well. He obviously got final

04:24to the Europa Conference League final during the Champions League last season. So, he'll

04:29be chomping at the bit to have a go on those big European nights as well.

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