Slot on changes for quarter final trip to managerless Southampton

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Slot on changes for quarter final trip to managerless Southampton  17/12/2024  AXA training centre, Liverpool, UK

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00:00Yeah, I am. A bit of a cold maybe, but always in the winter, in the winter period, yeah.

00:11Let's check the fitness situation at the minute, particularly with Kanate,

00:17Sinekas and Bradley, how are they, are they ready yet, or is it more the weekend or a bit longer?

00:22Costa is coming close, he's going to train with us today, maybe for the first time,

00:27we'll see how that works out, Ibu and Conor are still not training with us.

00:33You yourself have got to serve a slight ban for this game against Southampton,

00:36how do you feel about having to serve that, and how will it impact you throughout the game?

00:42Not as much as I thought. It should impact me, because if you are suspended in Holland

00:48then you're not allowed to be in and around the dressing room,

00:52you can't do the media as well, so this is a lighter version of suspension.

00:59I would say that I'm used to it, but I've never been used to being suspended,

01:03so it's the first time I am, yeah.

01:08So I think I'm still able to do the things I want to do.

01:13The less impact you have on your team is during the 45 minutes,

01:19and the most impact you can have is at half-time or before the game.

01:24Those are the things I can do, but in an ideal situation I would have just been on the sideline.

01:29But I got a yellow, which I probably deserved again as well, and, yeah, it happens.

01:38Do you think you deserved all of them, or were you a little bit surprised?

01:41No, one of the three I didn't deserve, but I told what I said back then, which was for Tony.

01:48He said, OK, that's a word we don't use that much over here.

01:52But that was meant to one of my players, so that one was a misunderstanding,

01:56but the one I got against Chelsea was absolutely deserved.

01:59In this game I could have got five maybe, so to come out with one was maybe even...

02:07I have to thank the referee for that.

02:09What do you expect from Southampton, given they've changed their manager?

02:13Well, they're about to change their manager, but they have taken Russell Black out of there.

02:17Yeah, which is, in my opinion, a pity, and maybe it's a good moment

02:22when we talk about referee decisions and how to react on that,

02:27and the manager being sacked.

02:28I feel really, really sorry for Gary O'Neill, he's done so well, in my opinion,

02:33if you look at how his team is playing, and he was so, so, so unlucky on multiple occasions,

02:38especially against West Ham, in my opinion.

02:41So these things happen, and Russell Martin has done so well last season at Southampton,

02:47plays this season again, a good football.

02:50We've experienced this when we had such a tough day over there, we only beat them 3-2.

02:58So you always feel sorry if managers don't get the chance to continue,

03:04and especially in these two situations, because for me they are managers

03:08that had a good idea of how they wanted to play with the team,

03:12and unfortunately they weren't able to get enough points, and then managers get sacked.

03:23Do you wonder what to expect?

03:26Sorry, that was your question, I didn't answer it at all.

03:29It's difficult, because I saw them during the weekend starting with four at the back,

03:39which they changed after 15 minutes, going to five at the back,

03:42and the one that takes over normally plays with four at the back.

03:48What can you expect? What would you expect, four or five?

03:52I'm going four.

03:53You're going four, OK.

03:54I think the players maybe feel more comfortable with five,

03:59from what I saw during the weekend.

04:02But it's also a moment for the manager to have his impact,

04:06and if he truly believes four is the best,

04:09and it depends maybe also how long time he's going to get,

04:11is he only there for one game or is he there for longer?

04:15Will he play with his normal starters if he only has one chance or a few chances to lead the team?

04:21Will he then do what's best for the Premier League

04:25or for him as a chance to maybe reach the semi-final of the League Cup?

04:31So it's difficult what we can expect in terms of formation, in terms of personnel,

04:38but what we do know is that we have to play an away game against Southampton,

04:41against 11 players.

04:46I just want to check right now where you are as a side.

04:49Is this where you anticipated to be, in a quarter-final,

04:52still fighting on all fronts when you came into this job?

04:56To a certain extent, yes, because I think that is normal for Liverpool,

05:00to be fighting for every trophy and for a long time in every cup to go all the way.

05:09This happened last season when we, not we, but when this club won this competition.

05:15So I'm not surprised that with the quality we have,

05:18we are competing at this moment for these three trophies,

05:25and the fourth one is starting in January.

05:28But it is a challenge because we have a lot of competition,

05:32great competition in other teams here as well.

05:34And also in the League Cup, if you look at the other teams that are still in,

05:39it's for none of the teams that are in, it's going to be an easy road to the final.

05:45And Diogo Jota has returned as well, is this a good time for him with all these games

05:50and this particular match coming up to get more match fitness?

05:55That is for me the positive thing also about the League Cup,

05:59because like you've seen I think till now, we haven't played with many starters yet,

06:04so it's mostly been a game where the ones that haven't played that much started the game,

06:08and that's really important.

06:10So for the likes of Vata, Endo for example, he hasn't played that much,

06:15but fortunately for us he plays for his national team,

06:18and the few times he can play in the League Cup helps him to keep his rhythm as well.

06:22So Diogo would have been definitely one that was ideal for him to play,

06:28but after the game he wasn't completely fit, so he didn't train with us yesterday.

06:34So let's see if he can train with us today.

06:36So don't expect him to start, hopefully he can make some minutes,

06:39but I don't expect him to start tomorrow.

06:43Hi, Arne, it's been notable in all the games that Liverpool haven't been winning towards the end

06:47that you've been willing with your tactics and your substitutions

06:50to maybe sacrifice a defeat in the pursuit of a win,

06:54even in situations where maybe a draw would be creditable,

06:57like away at Arsenal or down to ten men for 70 minutes, for example.

07:01Has this always been your philosophy, or have you maybe been influenced by that?

07:05Have you maybe been influenced by the group who have been so good at winning games later on?

07:11It is a combination of both, it's always been my philosophy,

07:14since I've been a manager, to try to win the game in the end.

07:22But it's definitely also that our players have this same mentality,

07:26long, long, long before I came here.

07:28So it's probably also the mentality of the club, it's the mentality of the players,

07:33maybe that's also one of the reasons.

07:34Why they brought me in? Because it's also my mentality to try to win every game.

07:39Even if we are in a situation, like you said, where you can accept a draw as well.

07:47But it's the mentality we have together,

07:52and that's why we are at this moment of time happy with each other.

07:56I know you said Jürgen might not be fit enough to start,

07:59but how is Federico doing?

08:01Is this a game where he could potentially start,

08:03or does he still need to be managed a bit carefully?

08:05It's definitely a moment where he can get minutes,

08:08and the amount of minutes is a question mark.

08:11You cannot expect from him to play 90, I think, especially on this level,

08:17where the intensity is so high, because he's been out for five or six games.

08:24But if he has a good training session, he will make minutes,

08:31but it's going to be a game where not all our starters will start,

08:36so we have to manage minutes.

08:38If we want to use a few starters, not for 90 minutes,

08:42so we have to balance.

08:44I can only make five substitutions, if you know what I mean.

08:46So the ones that make minutes and go off maybe at half-time,

08:53it can be more than five, because you can only make five substitutions.

08:58So, he will make minutes, Federico, tomorrow,

09:03if he starts or comes in or plays the second half,

09:06that's something we have to make a decision about during this day.

09:11It's obviously been a massive boost having Alisson back for the past couple of games,

09:16but this competition in the past has been massive,

09:20can we expect him to come back in tomorrow?

09:23Yes, you can.

09:24And you've spoken a lot in the past about his quality,

09:27but just in terms of his character and his temperament as a number two,

09:30it's one of the most difficult jobs in football, really,

09:32but can you just tell us a little bit about him and how he's dealt with dropping back out of the team?

09:38Yes, I agree with you, it is one of the most difficult jobs in football

09:41if the first goalkeeper is always available,

09:44because then you work for the whole season

09:47and you hardly ever have the chance to play,

09:49because you normally don't come in 10 or 15 minutes before the end.

09:53He's unfortunate for us, but good for him.

09:57He's already made quite a lot of minutes,

09:59so I think if we make a list of players of the amount of minutes,

10:03there will be players that have far less playing time than him,

10:06so I think he can look back at the first half of the season

10:10as for himself a positive first half of the season.

10:14We as a club, of course, hope that all the players are available in the second half of the season,

10:18so he will not make the amount of minutes as he did in the first half,

10:21but we are really fortunate to have such a great second goalkeeper,

10:26that if we need him he's able to do as well as he did.

10:33Hi, can you talk a little bit about your backroom staff,

10:37because they'll be maybe a bit more in the spotlight tomorrow?

10:43How much delegation do you give to them, how important they are to you?

10:55Do you have a long-standing relationship with Sipka?

10:58Yeah, Sipka I've worked with for a long time,

11:01so we know each other in and out, especially football-wise.

11:05One of the reasons why we work together is because we have so much in common,

11:10if it's about the playing style or game model or the changes we make during the game.

11:17And John Heitinga is now here with me for the first half of the season,

11:21and I couldn't have wished for more.

11:24So, very, if I say talented, I don't even rate him high enough,

11:32because he's more than that already, he's been head coach himself,

11:35but he's still young, but he grew into our staff from the start in a very good manner.

11:44So he has the same idea about football, that's also why I chose him to come to us as well.

11:49But the way he's with the boys, just like Sipka, is very positive.

11:53We do almost all the things we do together, like in every other staff I think it's like this,

11:59but that's definitely the way it is over here as well.

12:01They get a lot of time to work with the players in an individual way,

12:06but also lead a part of sessions.

12:08I have the same idea about football as I do, so, yes, I will be involved tomorrow,

12:15but if I wouldn't be, that would not be a problem at all for the players,

12:19they would not notice anything different then, I think.

12:22And then we're talking about the technical staff,

12:24but I think we've all seen how much of a compliment our performance staff

12:28and medical staff should have if you look at how players come back,

12:32like Alisson, like Jorda, two days ago.

12:36But also that we can be with 10 and our opponent can say it felt like they had 11,

12:42that probably tells you a lot about our performance staff and about the players,

12:45but I have given them enough compliments,

12:47so let's stay with the performance staff and the medical staff and my backroom staff for now.

12:55Just one on the suspension, do you think you need to change anything

13:00in the way that you behave on the touchline, or is it just unusual?

13:07Have you thought about that at all?

13:09Nah, you always reflect, but I think in general I'm calm.

13:15But if... I don't know if it's smart to say this, but if so,

13:21there's also a limit for me, let's put it that way.

13:24And then I can get emotional.

13:27And that, unfortunately, that limit is earlier reached by the referee's decision

13:34than the decision my players make.

13:39Because they make more good decisions than the referees do, in my opinion, for my team.

13:49The Chelsea game was emotional, we should have had a second penalty,

13:53but the VAR changed it this game.

13:55I think there were a lot of controversial decisions being made.

14:00And if you're then down to 10, that comes even...

14:05That works out even harder, or how should I say this?

14:10So, yeah, like I said, Chelsea game and this game was emotional,

14:16and maybe I should stay just underneath instead of going above.

14:24But, yeah, it is what it is.

14:27I think I have three options to go now again, don't I?

14:29Is it again three before I start?

14:33Yeah, OK.

14:34On that topic, I just wanted to say,

14:38because obviously we're very used to what Jurgen Klopp is like on the touchline,

14:42you're not like Jurgen Klopp on the touchline,

14:44but does this show you've still got that, what we say, fire in the belly,

14:48you still have that passion?

14:50Yeah, I don't always think you have to show it to have that fire.

14:55I think it's clear that if you work in a club like this,

15:00or around the world at a top club,

15:02you do have this fire inside you that you want to win every game,

15:07and you try to influence as much as you can.

15:11And the mistake I've made two times already here

15:16and one or two times in Holland,

15:18that sometimes you think that creating an atmosphere

15:23that the whole world is against you

15:24can lead to some positive decisions at the end of the game.

15:28But here, till now, as well as in the Chelsea game,

15:32as in this game, for the whole 90 minutes it stayed the same,

15:35so it didn't change.

15:36It wasn't like after I was trying to influence a bit

15:39that the referee then all of a sudden gave us one of two free kicks.

15:44No, we just kept for the whole game the same.

15:46So, I know that it doesn't work, but sometimes you feel,

15:50hmm, can I influence that a bit?

15:54But it didn't help, at all.

15:59Arne, if Sir Macassar is in Fittemore,

16:01you only have four defenders with Andy Rocks and suspenders,

16:04are players like Amar and Al or James not a save?

16:07And would they be ready to step up and play?

16:11And what have you made of the young players' developments during this time at the club?

16:15That's very positive.

16:16You talk about these two now,

16:17but I think we have a few others that have made a good impact

16:21in our training sessions till now.

16:24We've also used them like Trey has been used already in the league.

16:29I'm aware of the fact that we have only four defenders available

16:31and probably the ones that have started a lot of times

16:35will not play 90 minutes for sure and maybe not even at all.

16:39So, it's going to be either academy players

16:42that are going to get playing time

16:45or it's going to be players that nobody would expect to see in the last line,

16:50that are going to play in the last line tomorrow.

16:54Thank you, everyone.

16:55Thanks, Arne.

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