Arne Slot was officially appointed as Liverpool’s new manager last month (Picture: Getty)
Arne Slot lifted the lid on his decision to join Liverpool, his plans for the future and much more as he delivered his first message as the club’s head coach this afternoon.
Liverpool put an end to months of speculation by announcing Slot as their new manager last month, with the Dutchman leaving his post at Feyenoord to take charge on Merseyside.
Slot has enormous shoes to fill as he prepares for the seemingly impossible job of succeeding Jurgen Klopp, one of the most charismatic and universally adored managers in the club’s history.
Across his nine years with the Reds, Klopp steered his side to nine trophies, including the Champions League and the Premier League, after what had been a barren spell for one of England’s most decorated teams.
Klopp’s replacement arrives in the Premier League with a stellar reputation back home in his native Netherlands after guiding Feyenoord to their first Eredivisie title in six years in the 2022/23 season.
However, the 45-year-old is under no illusions regarding the size of the task at hand at Liverpool, where a host of top managers fell short of expectations prior to Klopp’s arrival in 2015.
Klopp wasted little time in giving Slot’s appointment his seal of approval and even led the Anfield faithful in a chant for his replacement as he made an emotional farewell speech after a 2-0 win on the final day of the season.
This afternoon, in a video shared on Liverpool’s official website, Slot sat down to discus his journey for the first time in a wide-ranging and in-depth chat at the club’s training base.
How do you feel at this moment?
Klopp stepped down as Liverpool manager after nine trophy-laden years on Merseyside (Picture: Getty)
I would say energised because of the holiday that I had, excited, really looking forward to the new challenge which is ahead of me.
We are, of course, looking out on the training ground which is fantastic so there are a lot of things to look forward to.
The team is coming back in a few weeks and I’m looking forward to a new start after a nice period I had at Feyenoord.
How do you pronounce your name?
I’ve heard Arnie a few times! When I played Celtic, Brendan Rodgers a few times called me Arnie.
I listen to that name but we in Holland would call me Arne [ɑrnə ˈslɔt] which is not an easy one to pronounce so I’ll listen to Arnie as well but I’d prefer Arne.
As long as it’s positive I’m good!
Was the delay his appointment a deliberate thing?
Slot steered Feyenoord to their first Eredivisie title in six years two seasons ago (Picture: Getty)
I think it is because of a few reasons. First and foremost, maybe, the farewell of Jurgen which was really special from what I saw.
It was on the same day that I left Feyenoord as well, but I did see a few things.
Afterwards, there was even a few more farewell as well so I think it was fair to him and to the club and to the supporters to wait a bit and come in.
Apart from that I went on a holiday, like you probably can see! Now is a good moment to arrive here and talk to you.
But let’s be clear, I don’t start today. I’ve been in a lot of contract with staff members already from people who are working here to new staff members that are coming in and, of course, almost every day Richard [Hughes] and me are calling each other.
This is a very important phase for the new season to make sure the team is ready and we have to plan the pre-season. A lot of things have been done but more on the background and now I’m sitting here in front of you.
It’s a good moment to do it now for the few reasons I just gave you.
Do you find it easy to switch off?
The Dutchman attracted interest from Tottenham before Ange Postecoglou’s appointment (Picture: Getty)
No. I don’t think if it’s me or anyone else ever switches off. But it’s been a good few weeks because I can look back at a very nice time at my former club Feyenoord and really look forward to go to a club like Liverpool.
There have been summers where it hasn’t been this good because that’s also the life of a former football player and a manager.
But this summer was really nice because of the fact I left Feyenoord in a good place and I’m coming to a club Jurgen left in a good place. It’s been a really good summer.
Admiration for Jurgen Klopp
I’m 45 now, watching football for a long time and watching football a lot, and I think it’s been an era where everyone looked at the Barcelona side of Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta, [Lionel] Messi, the rivalry there was between Real Madrid, with Cristiano Ronaldo being there.
I think when that came to an end the new rivalry in European came because of Jurgen. He managed Liverpool and Pep [Guardiola] of course managed Manchester City. I think for everybody who loves football it was a fantastic era to watch the both of them getting the best out of each other.
I’ve seen a lot of games of Liverpool, a lot of games of City as well, and when you live in Europe the Premier League is probably the nicest league to follow.
He’s done a tremendous job over here and I’m really happy with that as a fan but now as his successor. He left Liverpool in the best possible way.
Very good team, the fans are very good as well, so I’m looking forward to it.
Was it important that you spoke with Klopp?
Slot officially began work at Liverpool on June 1 (Picture: Getty)
Yes. I did the same with my former clubs when I started over there but I think if someone worked at a club for nine years, has been so successful, you want to know all about it from him.
You also want to know things about the players, although it’s important to get my own opinion about that. But all the staff that are staying here.
You can only use all this information he has because he did so well, not only in terms of results but also everybody saw in his farewell, but also the years before that, how popular he was.
He gave me more than a few good tips but what stood out for me was that he was so happy for me and he said it in the media as well that he would be my biggest fan from now on because he supports Liverpool in the best possible way.
You don’t see this very often so it says a lot about his character, the way he handled this situation.
Do you share similarities with Klopp?
Klopp passed on several pieces of advice to his successor (Picture: Getty)
I think there are and I think that’s one of the reasons why I came in. I think the way Liverpool scouted me, they were looking for, not the exact same type, but when something has been successful with a certain way of playing, you would like to extend this or to go on with this.
It’s probably one of the reasons why they came to me. Yeah, it is my style but I think it is the style of many modern coaches at the moment, of Guardiola and Klopp.
And I think at a big club like Feyenoord, it is probably the only style you can play, to have the ball a lot, to have a lot of energy and I think also now there are comparisons between the clubs I just left behind and the club I’m going to work for now.
The fans love to see a team that wants to do everything to win the game. If things are tough they try to do everything to turn the game around and I think that has been done by Liverpool many times and Feyenoord many times as well.
It’s a big change but change is exciting isn’t it?
It is. You just said it, wearing the new jersey. Of course there’s change but a lot of things are the same as well.
I think the players are still the same which is probably the most important thing because in the end it comes down to the players, the fans are still the same, so many things are also still the same.
We’re going to try and work on what Jurgen left behind and we will see a lot of similar things but of course I’ll bring my own things to the table as well and I think that’s also what is expected of me.
What does it mean to have the title of head coach at Liverpool?
For me, it’s normal because this is the way it is in Europe and in Holland. I don’t think there’s much of a change between a head coach and a manager.
It’s just about being a head coach, I can fully go into the things I would like to do so work with the team, prepare the team in the best possible way and me and Richard are going to work together when it comes to transfers. But not only the two of us, there’s a big backroom staff included in this as well.
I think for me it’s the way I’ve worked always and it’s the ideal way of working because I can use the most of my time by working with the team and the time that is left will probably be a bit for the family and a bit of talking with Richard about how we can strengthen the team. But we already have a really strong team.
When did the move become a real possibility?
Klopp’s said his goodbyes after Liverpool’s final-day win over Wolves (Picture: Getty)
I think those moments are always very private because nobody needs to know about it so the first time you hear that Liverpool is interested in you, I have to keep it between me and my wife.
I always knew that it had to be a fantastic club that I would leave Feyenoord for and this was and the league as well.
I think it was a year ago that I was in the interest of a few Premier League clubs as well but I decided to extend at Feyenoord with the idea of staying there two more seasons.
But after a year Liverpool came along and like I just told you about the rivalry between City and Liverpool and the many games we as football fans saw, it wasn’t a difficult choice to make, although I was really happy at Feyenoord. i could work there with the fans, staff, players but it was an opportunity I had to take.
How would you describe yourself as a head coach?
The 45-year-old left Rotterdam as a hugely popular figure among Feyenoord fans (Picture: Getty)
I think when I come in the first days, in the first week, I will be really focussed on the training ground.
I think that is when you can influence the most and you have to influence the most because you have to influence your players coming to your model and your game-plan. That’s where it’s all about finding a way of playing that suits the players the best and then adjust with the game-plan a bit where we can win a few things.
But that’s all tactical and I think that’s something else that being a head coach or a manager and that is the relations you have with people. The relationship I have with my staff but also the players, how they get along with each other, and the relations between staff and players.
This was one of the things looking from the outside where Jurgen was great as well.
That is a challenge because I’m sure there are many people still at this club who still love him and we have to find a way for people to get used to me and get used to the new staff coming in and get the same energy in this building and eventually into the stadium as well. That’s what it’s all about – we have to perform during the games.
But to perform there it’s important to get a good idea of how to play and a good energy within the team and within the people working with Liverpool.
Watch the rest of Arne Slot’s first interview here:
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