Arne Slot confronts new issue as Liverpool challenge becomes clear

Arne Slot confronts new issue as Liverpool challenge becomes clear

Liverpool will be aiming to create a little bit of history under Arne Slot as they look to defend their Premier League title

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot is confronting a new issue (Image: Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)

Rewind 18 months, and you'd have been hard pressed to find a Liverpool supporter who had even the most cursory knowledge of Arne Slot. Now, though, the Dutchman is deservedly revered having already earned his place in the Anfield annals.

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That, of course, is what winning the Premier League title can do for a manager, last season's comprehensive triumph moving the Reds back on their perch alongside Manchester United with a record-equalling 20th championship.

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Given it was Slot's first season in English football, and had been handed the unenviable task of following in the footsteps of Jurgen Klopp, the magnitude of the achievement cannot be understated.

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This season, though, promises to reveal even more about the head coach as, after a summer of record spending overseen by sporting director Richard Hughes, the squad will be moulded closer to Slot's vision having won the title with playing personnel largely inherited from his predecessor.

History suggests it won't be easy. Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea are the only three clubs to have won the Premier League title in consecutive campaigns.

Not since when winning a third successive championship in 1984 have Liverpool successfully defended any trophy. And Bob Paisley is the only Reds manager in the last century to have won the same silverware in successive seasons.

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Slot is acutely aware of the challenge ahead. "I think we have a lot to compete next season again but what I don't know yet, and that's going to be the interesting one, is if we have this elite mentality, this serial winner mentality of showing up season after season," he said.

"Many teams have won the Premier League once but not many have won it multiple seasons in a row and that's for a reason. It's difficult because not every player has that elite mentality."

Slot, however, has already shown a habit of defying convention, having become only the fourth Liverpool boss to win the league in their first season in charge.

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But if there was surprise at the manner in which the Reds dominated their domestic opponents last season, this time around there will be a much greater weight of expectation on the Dutchman's shoulders.

Slot has already demonstrated he is more than capable of coping with the pressure. He embraced rather than distanced himself from the fact he was Klopp's successor, choosing to implement the most appropriate of the German's methods along with those of his own.

And it didn't take long before his ruthlessness became apparent when replacing Jarell Quansah at half-time of his first competitive game in charge, the Premier League opener at newly-promoted Ipswich Town. A finely-balanced goalless scoreline ultimately became a comfortable 2-0 win, and the Reds were up and running.

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If partly through necessity than design, Slot also had an eye for transforming a player with Ryan Gravenberch switched to a defensive midfield role after Liverpool missed out on Martin Zubimendi. That Gravenberch became one of the Premier League players of the season highlights the value of that change.

Tactically, too, the Dutchman delivered. A subtle switch from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1 added more defensive security and allowed Liverpool to impose greater control on games. And the 4-2-2-2 that saw off Manchester City at the Etihad on a pivotal weekend in the title race was a sign of flexibility.

Slot's success has certainly helped banish any lingering suggestions the Dutchman may not quite prove the same potential lure for new signings as predecessor Klopp.

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Indeed, both Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike have revealed meetings with the Reds boss were pivotal in deciding to make a move to Anfield, Wirtz in particular effusive with his praise.

“The conversations were always really good,” said the £116million attacking midfielder.

“I can remember the first time, he already showed me some scenes of how we want to play and how I could fit in the team. He was just telling me that I'm a player he really wants to have in his team and can bring the team a step forward.

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“I just could imagine it being good to be in the team."

Slot has also ensured Liverpool remains a destination for his fellow coaches. After assistant John Heitinga moved to Ajax to take over at his former club, Slot helped persuade Giovanni van Bronckhorst - who as a manager won the Dutch league with Feyenoord and won silverware at both Rangers and Besiktas - to sign up as replacement.

Challenging for and winning trophies will always get supporters onside. But Slot had already convinced the Liverpool fanbase long before the Reds were closing in on the title.

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Admittedly, winning 23 of his first 27 games in charge didn't do him any harm. Nor did the style of play that saw Liverpool plunder 68 goals in that time.

Yet Slot seemed to instinctively know what was required as a Liverpool manager - or, in his case, head coach. Consider these ambitious comments on his unveiling.

"We would all love to see Liverpool a bit higher than third place and this is the challenge we are facing now – to build on from what we have," he said.

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"I have all the confidence in this because of the players, that we can add a few things where we hopefully can get a bit more points than 82, which is necessary with the likes of Arsenal and City, to end up hopefully a bit higher than we did this season."

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That said, it was when moving on to 82 points with the victory over Tottenham Hotspur in late April that Liverpool confirmed their Premier League crown.

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While not a tubthumper in the Klopp mould, Slot has connected with the fans in his own way. And there have been signs of the passion that clearly burns within overflowing on occasion, not least with his post-match red card in the 2-2 derby draw at Everton in February. It led to a second suspension of the season.

But perhaps the greatest representation of Slot the man came in response to the tragic loss of Diogo Jota, who died in a car crash in July along with his brother Andre Silva.

"If we want to laugh, we laugh; if we want to cry, we're going to cry," he said. "If they want to train they can train, if they don't want to train they can not train. But be yourself, don't think you have to be different than your emotions tell you.

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"We will always carry him with us in our hearts, in our thoughts, wherever we go."

The memory of Jota adds an emotional strand to what for many reasons will be a testing season for Liverpool. Slot, though, has shown he is the right man for the task.

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