Behind his friendly exterior, Arne Slot is as ruthless as they come

Slot is not at Liverpool to copy Jurgen Klopp but he has already shown comparable toughness in his decision making

Liverpool are compelled to move on from the Jurgen Klopp era to maximise Arne Slot’s chances of repeating it. Not unexpectedly, the rest of the world is not ready to do so at the same pace.
For the time-being and no doubt the foreseeable future, every decision, comment and celebration is being viewed under the lens of ‘what would Klopp do?’ So it was despite a winning start in last week’s Premier League opener.
Would Klopp have used Ryan Gravenberch as a No 6? Diogo Jota as the No 9? Would he order his defenders and goalkeeper to indulge in passing triangles in their six-yard box? And where were the celebratory fist pumps to the travelling supporters?
Most significantly and unnerving for some was whether Klopp would have been so brutal as to sub youngster Jarell Quansah at half-time, and then reference his performance as symptomatic of the team’s lack of aggression as Ipswich made a belligerent start?
“Speaking out publicly about a player’s performance is not something that I think you’d have ever heard from Jurgen Klopp so there’s already a slight difference there,” observed Gary Lineker, one of many to take note. “It always makes me slightly nervous when managers are critical of their players.”
Slot addressed the substitution in his Friday press conference before Sunday’s visit of Brentford, revealing he held discussions with Quansah to fully explain his decision.
“I spoke to him immediately after the game and again on Sunday, the day after,” said Slot. “At the end of that conversation he asked if he could train on Sunday. He reacted in the way every player should. I don’t think there should be that much [read] into it. What I said was he did not lose every duel. But he lost one or two important ones.
“It was not about Jarell. We as a team did not do well. At that time, the only threat from Ipswich was [Liam] Delap and he won one or two important duels. I was trying to get that strength out of their team by bringing in Ibou [Konate].”
Slot’s hooking of Quansah certainly demonstrated a ruthless streak, and one that is not atypical of his early Anfield work, especially in the manner in which he has judged the squad he inherited and determined who can cut it.
The current obsession remains focused on who Liverpool will sign, but Slot has been diligently working on who might be culled based on his own judgment rather than the eulogies of the recent past.
Only players of accomplished technique capable of fitting his system will survive the next seven days and thrive moving forward, those lacking a perfect first touch in no doubt about their current standing in the pecking order. There is already a sense of Liverpool rapidly morphing into a Slot team, the new coach in no mood to hang around to impose his vision as a week of small-sided training games and in-depth tactical briefings concludes with a full 11-versus-11 game to put theory into practice closer to matchday.
Slot’s assessment of some of Liverpool’s younger talent has been particularly informative, with many recently considered on the threshold of a first-team breakthrough realising their status is no greater than an Under 18 player seeking to impress. Slot’s use of the prodigious Trey Nyoni ahead of more experienced alternatives in pre-season was the surest signal of what the Dutch coach values. Many anticipated Spanish midfielder Stefan Bajcetic to be in line to save Liverpool a small fortune. Instead, it is more likely he will be leaving before the end of next week.
Similarly, for Liverpool to raise £10 million from the sale of teenager Bobby Clark to RB Salzburg represents extraordinary business, the cold, hard reality of a big fee making the deal a no-brainer, despite Clark being one of the heroes of last year’s Carabao Cup final win.
As well as seeking recruits, the final week of the transfer window looks set to be littered with more outgoings, following a pattern when Slot took over at Feyenoord and made decisive instant judgment on those suited his system, irrespective of the positive references of the previous regime.
“If you are a coach at that level, you have to be like this – you can’t win by just being nice,” says Rotterdam-based freelance journalist Richard Dubbeld, who has years of experience covering Feyenoord and sees obvious echoes with Slot’s early work at Anfield.
“Arne does not beat around the bush. There is no player at Feyenoord who over the three years he was there ever said anything negative about him, even when they left. What they like about him is he is not playing around. He is clear in his opinion. There is no fussing about. His door is always open. When he makes a substitution as he did last weekend he will make an explanation. I’m not sure if I would describe it as ruthless.
“What some say is ruthless, others call honesty, and I am sure he would have had a good chat with Quansah the day after last weekend’s game. He would tell him what he did right and wrong. It would never be one way.”
Despite the eye-brow raising after the Quansah substitution and subsequent remarks, suggestions this represents a great departure from Klopp may have been overestimated.
Beyond Klopp’s exterior as the affable football intellect who you would love to have a pint with, he showed from day one he was ruthless when necessary.
The start of his reign included several examples of players being left in no doubt their futures were elsewhere, as striker Christian Benteke, goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and centre-back Mamadou Sakho – publicly embarrassed after being sent home during Klopp’s first pre-season tour for lack of discipline – might testify.
Klopp was not averse to subbing centre-backs at half-time, either. If Quansah needs a pep talk, he could contact Dejan Lovren who was scapegoated by Klopp for a dismal performance against Harry Kane and Tottenham Hotspur in a 4-1 defeat in 2017. Lovren was starting a Champions League final a few months later.
Granted, Lovren was more experienced than Quansah, but the youngster’s rite of passage will not hold him back or prevent him being fundamental to future plans.
So although there are already subtle differences between Slot and Klopp in terms of style on and off the pitch, the decisiveness and determination to put the needs of the team ahead of any personal feelings of players is not one of them.
“Arne and the complete performance staff will work with the guys all week and they know what they want from the game,” suggests Dubbeld.
“If the players are not bringing it, he will think, ‘I must do something else because I am not messing about. I am here to win football games.’”