Liverpool boss Arne Slot on Mo Salah’s chances of winning the Ballon D’Or, Trent Alexander Arnold leaving the club and lifting the title at Anfield against Crystal Palace
Melwood, Liverpool, UK
Melwood, Liverpool, UK
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00:00Good morning.
00:07How set to us this week that he feels it's his best chance of ever winning the balance court this year?
00:17What hopes do you have for him in that respect?
00:19A lot, because it's completely true that he's had very, very, very good seasons at Liverpool.
00:29But this one probably stands out in terms of numbers.
00:32And if you add to that that we also won the league, that would probably give him a fair chance.
00:38But fortunately for all the football fans around the world, he's not the only player that has had a great season.
00:45So I think we were able to watch many great football players this season again.
00:50But if there's ever a chance for him, it would be this season.
00:55If not, then he's going to try and push even harder next season.
00:59That's what I already know with him.
01:02In terms of individual performance, that would be hardly impossible.
01:08Although never say that something is impossible for Mo because he's proven that he can always raise his game even further.
01:15And that's, I think, also the elite mentality that a star player should have.
01:19Never be satisfied with where you are.
01:22And that's the mentality he has.
01:24In terms of team, we can do a bit better.
01:28Because we've played for four trophies and we've only, only, won one.
01:34The biggest.
01:35The biggest, that's true.
01:36But obviously Sunday and Monday we're looking at as well.
01:40The hardest, I would say.
01:42Maybe the biggest, you can always debate on that, but the hardest, yeah.
01:45Obviously Sunday and Monday we're looking at a celebration, I know there's a game to play as well.
01:50What concerns do you have that the celebration could be overshadowed by any adverse reaction to Trenton?
01:56Are you likely to give him five minutes or longer to say that goodbye?
02:01I haven't decided on that one yet, but I think this should be a day that everybody is going to enjoy.
02:11It's been 35 years, everybody is waiting for this moment, or everybody, but Liverpool fans are waiting for this moment.
02:18And I think we've set the example against Tottenham.
02:22I don't think I've ever seen a celebration in a nicer way done than that day.
02:31Everybody, and that's one of the two things that make me emotional is.
02:35One of them was how we arrived at the stadium when the fans were singing for us.
02:40And the second one is that I've met in the last few weeks multiple people telling me I'm going to Anfield now for all my life,
02:48but I've never felt a day what was more special than that one, Tottenham at home.
02:55So I am hoping that we can add a moment like this to it.
03:00And I think everybody that's in this stadium deserves to be there.
03:03The fans, the staff, but also the players.
03:06And one of my players is Trent.
03:08So he definitely deserves to be there as well because he's been part of an incredible successful season
03:13and incredible successful years at this club.
03:17So yeah, I can only hope that we do it one more time over what we did against Tottenham.
03:23And I have a lot of trust in our fans to do the same again.
03:28It's a pity, obviously finishing the season against the FA Cup winners,
03:31but I just wonder what your overriding emotion will be when you and your players go up and finally lift that Premier League trophy as well.
03:38And your predecessor as well, of course.
03:41Sorry?
03:42Yeah, I've heard he's there.
03:43Yeah, it's nice.
03:44Proud, special, but I think proud sums up the most.
03:55Because after working here for a year now, I know even better how hard it is.
04:00That's why I just said it's the hardest trophy to win because cup trophies you can, doesn't have to be,
04:08you can win those by a lucky draw or being lucky in two or three games by maybe winning a penalty shootout.
04:16And then all of a sudden you arrive in the final.
04:19So it's always harder to win the league because it's 38 games.
04:23And in a period of time where the league has never been as strong as it is,
04:27I don't think there's ever been so much competition even for teams even to go to the Champions League.
04:33And there's never been a season where the number of 16 and 17 or 15 and 16 of the Premier League
04:40play in a final against each other in the Europa League.
04:43So that's what makes it so hard.
04:46So that would definitely be a proud moment for me and for the players and also for our fans.
04:52So let's hope it's also going to be a special one.
04:57Alan Hansen presented the trophy to you on Saturday who is a brilliant broadcaster
05:03as well as a phenomenal footballer.
05:05He was part of a team squad that won eight league titles in a decade.
05:11Not too bad.
05:13Off the back of what we've just seen Manchester City do as well, you stopping that,
05:17what is the potential of your team?
05:19Do you think that you've got the potential maybe not to get eight or ten years?
05:23Maybe you kind of don't know. What can they achieve?
05:27Now I think we have a lot to compete next season again.
05:32But what I don't know yet and that's going to be the interesting one is if we have this elite mentality,
05:39this serial winner mentality of showing up season after season after season.
05:45And I think I get the answer already on the 8th of July when we come back together.
05:49to see in what shape the players are because many teams have won the Premier League once,
05:56but not many have won them multiple seasons in a row and that's for a reason.
06:00First of all, because it's so difficult.
06:01Second of all, that not every player has this elite mentality.
06:05When I talk about Mo, it's not a coincidence that he's for seven years already on a certain level.
06:10And next in last season, he was the one that was the most fittest when we arrived back after their break.
06:18So that is a mentality you need to have to have a chance of becoming a serial winner.
06:25And this is something we have to prove and the players have to prove and me as well during the off season.
06:32Yeah, the first day for me to judge if we have a chance to become serial winners is the 8th of July when I see them back.
06:40And just in terms of the players, I'm just wondering how they all are ahead of this one.
06:45In particular, it's nice to see Charles Gomez, probably one of the nicest people on the planet.
06:50Indeed.
06:51He was back in the squad and on the bench last week and his next appearance will be his 150th for Liverpool.
06:57Is he ready to make that this weekend?
06:59Last weekend he was there with the team, but he was not able to play yet.
07:03He didn't tick all the boxes yet, but I think there was a spot open or left.
07:10So it was for me a moment where I could show my gratitude towards him for what he's done on the pitch for us,
07:20but also off the pitch. And this is also something I want to address with Trent, because for a fan, these players are all professionals or the players.
07:30But for me as a manager, they are not only the player, but they're also the human being.
07:35And like you say, and that's what you know, and I think maybe the fans as well, but Joe Gomez is indeed one of the nicest persons you can meet.
07:45But he's also inspiring his teammates when he's not playing.
07:50So he has had more impact on our success than the outside world might probably know.
07:57So I'm hoping that he can make some minutes tomorrow if he ticks all the boxes this week.
08:06Sunday, not tomorrow.
08:09It's been a fabulous first season for you.
08:12And you've made the point that you inherited a wonderful squad from Jurgen Klopp.
08:17But quite a few of the individual players at Liverpool, Trent Alexander-Arnold,
08:23Virgil van Dijk and also Mo Salah have made the point that you've changed their game in some way.
08:30You've tried to add something.
08:32So what is it that you have in your coaching toolbox that sort of enables elite players to get even better?
08:40On a day-to-day basis, what do you use to get those sort of improvements?
08:45I can only tell you what I did, and I'm quite sure I would say 99.9,
08:53but maybe even 100 percent that Jurgen did the same things.
08:56But if you are eight or nine years together and working for a long time together with the players,
09:01that's going to happen with me as well.
09:03Maybe at a certain moment players get a little bit more used to the things you tell them.
09:07So we always, all managers, we try to inspire them to get the best out of them every three days,
09:12in the best, I mean, in work rate, in quality.
09:16And we always try to let the team play better together,
09:22and as a result of that the individual looks much better.
09:25And every manager has his own way of doing these things.
09:29So I've said many times there are many similarities between the two of us,
09:33but it would be a completely surprise to me that if every team meeting of Jurgen and me were exactly the same,
09:39and the way we inspire and the way we do things.
09:41So it's maybe just a new face in front of them, not better, not worse, just new,
09:49that lifted them maybe a little bit.
09:52Not a lot because Mo, Virgil and Trent have been outstanding for this club for all these years.
09:57Jurgen was here and they've been outstanding this season as well.
10:01As far as Sunday is concerned, it's going to be a really memorable day, whatever happens.
10:07But in the three games since the title was yours against Chelsea,
10:13there were some good moments, the same against Arsenal,
10:17and last Monday night against Brighton, but you haven't been able to come up with the win.
10:23It will be much more memorable if you can sign off with the victory in front of the fans,
10:29just to make it an even more special occasion.
10:33What's going to enable you to make that happen?
10:36Now, we need to do maybe a few things better, but in my opinion we've done a lot of things very good in all these three games.
10:48But unfortunately, or maybe the good thing for us was that we had to play these games in the end of the season.
10:54And I'm still really happy with the fact that we already won the league,
10:58because Chelsea away is for everyone a difficult game, Arsenal at home is for everyone a difficult game,
11:03and Brighton away is for everyone a difficult game as well.
11:06We're not the first and we will not be the last that lose at Brighton or lose at Chelsea away.
11:10So I've seen many, many, many good things throughout these three games,
11:13but conceded three against Chelsea, conceded two against Arsenal, conceded three against Brighton,
11:19that's not of our standards throughout the whole season.
11:22So that maybe, it's always been a thin line, all these games we've played,
11:28but normally we don't concede eight goals in three games.
11:33So that tells you that maybe in terms of work rate, the runs we make, the distance we run,
11:39it's all similar, so no one can tell us that we switched off.
11:43But blocking a cross, blocking a shot, throw yourself in front of a ball,
11:47that is maybe one or two percent less, and then immediately this league hurts you,
11:54especially if you play Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton.
11:59I think all three games we were close to winning it.
12:02We didn't because we faced three very good teams, and we're indeed hoping we can win on Sunday.
12:08But we're again going to face a strong team, because this team won against City.
12:14Am I correct if I say it? No, they had a draw against Arsenal away.
12:18So that is what sometimes happens.
12:21Maybe we've been lucky that we've had the other games earlier on in the season,
12:24and that we've built up a margin that we did.
12:27That is no luck by the way, that was work rate.
12:32Karl?
12:33Karl?
12:34Sorry to bring it back to Trent again, but have you spoken to him about the reaction he got last time into Anfield,
12:41and also talked about his expectations for this weekend?
12:45No, I think I've said multiple times that I talk to most players, not on a daily basis, but a lot.
12:52And especially if there are circumstances why I should talk to them,
12:56then you talk a bit more often to them, and it's clear that in Trent's situation,
13:01there are circumstances for me to talk more with him than with Virgil, for example.
13:07So, yes, I am talking to him, and I think that is the biggest difference between me
13:14and all the ones that have a purple bin, that I speak to the human being,
13:22Trent Alexander-Arnold, every day.
13:25And that, I think, combined with winning something together, creates a different bond than maybe the fans have with him.
13:34So, yes, I do talk to him quite a lot, actually.
13:38Although, when we started pre-season, he was quite a lot in my office as well, for other reasons.
13:44And now he's in my office a few times as well.
13:50Did that expand on another reason?
13:52Sorry?
13:53Did that expand on another reason?
13:55I think Mo said already a few things about why he was in my office in pre-season,
14:00and there were similar reasons why Trent was in my office in the beginning of the season.
14:05That's what you meant, or you meant the...?
14:08Yeah, yeah, yeah.
14:09Yeah, yeah, yeah.
14:10He was coming to see you about it, but I can assume that he's first choice anyway,
14:14so I wonder why the conversation was when he was coming to see you in pre-season?
14:18No, maybe he has said it himself, and he's going to leave either way, so why not telling him?
14:33So maybe it's already a first gift I can give Xabi Alonso, but I wasn't completely happy with every single minute how he was on the training round.
14:44So in my opinion, in certain moments, he could do a bit more, to say it mildly.
14:53And that's what we talked about, combined with that I said to him,
15:01you're a much better defender than everybody tells you.
15:05Unfortunately, you don't show it all the time, and that's why people sometimes say you're not.
15:11This is a part of your game you need to improve, but if you are just added and you're focused and concentrated,
15:17there are not many players that can go around him, because he's fast, he's agile, he has a great mentality.
15:24But yeah, it's about showing that every single game, because in this world we are judged not only on the 34 games we do well,
15:33we are mainly judged on the four games that we don't do so well.
15:37So yeah, these things we spoke about in pre-season.
15:42Did he say this in front of a microphone, or is that from here saying that he said this?
16:01Yeah, every club has its own way of doing things.
16:10I think you are used to the fact that I don't talk about players from other clubs that we haven't signed.
16:16So yeah, I understand that he's a big admirer of Lucio Diaz, because I'm a big admirer of him as well.
16:24He's a great player, having a great season.
16:27So yeah, if he just meant it that way, then he probably would have added to that,
16:31that he's an admirer of Mo Salah and Godi Kakpo as well.
16:34Or didn't he?
16:35Marcus Rashford.
16:36Oh, Marcus Rashford.
16:37That's what I mean, he just admires a few players, which we all do.
16:42I admire Lamine, Jamal and Rafinha a lot as well, by the way.
16:47My last one for you.
16:49Hi Arne, we saw against Brighton, Dom Solverslaw was playing a little bit deeper as a number one.
16:55You mentioned before that he actually sees this as one of his favourite positions.
16:59I wondered if you had that conversation across the team with you about giving him a chance in that position
17:04and how did you feel like he did?
17:07No, as many players did, we as a team played a good game.
17:11Unfortunately, Brighton played a very good game as well.
17:14So it was a close call.
17:17I think he had a great pass towards Mo, which was the lead up to the first goal.
17:23He played a good game, nothing new to see.
17:28Just interested in more to see the dynamic on the midfield with Harvey, Dom and Ryan in behind him.
17:38If he wants to play in that position, he is in big competition because I'm also an admirer of McAllister.
17:45So, but also of Dom, by the way.
17:49It was interesting to see, but not much more than that.
17:55Some of these.
17:56You're welcome.
17:58You're welcome.