Liverpool Boss Slot: "I Know How Special Winning the League Cup Can Be"
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Arne Slot says his Liverpool side are taking the League Cup seriously but the proof will be in his team selection against West Ham on Wednesday.
With fixture overload increasingly a concern for the game's top clubs and players, as long as England's second cup competition insists on positioning itself as the FA Cup-lite it's going to have a difficult time carving out a place for itself in the modern football landscape.
The League Cup may be a unique competition with historical value, but for many it is at best an afterthought, and that perception has become so intrenched that questions about its relevance and value seem almost inevitable each time another year's edition kicks off and those top clubs with European commitments enter.
"It's very important because it's the next one," was Liverpool head coach Arne Slot's take on it ahead of his League Cup bow on Wednesday against West Ham. "The next game we play, that's always the most important one.
"And I know the history of this club, I know what happened last year, I know how special winning a cup can be. We are far away from that because it's only the first game and a lot have to be played and we have a difficult tie. Fortunately at home, but it's a game to look forward to and an important one—as the next game always is."
Its status as Liverpool's next game may grant it an inherent importance, and it will be interesting to see whether Slot's team selection supports his claim that it is or if—as was regularly the case under Jürgen Klopp—that claim is followed up by heavy rotation.
The former Liverpool boss often spoke similarly about the next match always being his team's most important one, but his early round League Cup team selection rarely made it seem as though he particularly prioritized it. At least not unless and until his side got close to the final and with it an actual chance at silverware.
"Not only fans love winning trophies, players do and managers do as well," Slot added. "We all love to win something but that's far away and we still have to play our first game of this tournament. And like I said, it's a tough one with West Ham United at home. But it's always nice to win something and I know the history of the club.
"They won it a lot of times, and last season in a very special way with so many youngsters in the final. We are aware of the fact we won it last season and we are the holders so we have to protect that so we're going to give everything to win it again."
