Slot Talk: Focus on the Present

Yesterday at 02:00 PM

The Liverpool manager has no time for ifs, buts, or maybes

Liverpool manager Arne Slot spoke to the press ahead of Liverpool's trip to Crystal Palace for the early kick-off on Saturday. From the outset of his tenure the Dutchman showed an unwillingness to lodge an early complaint about another Liverpool 12:30 start, suggesting that he doesn't see why it would be "difficult to perform" in the early window.

Equally, however, he doesn't see the early window as a benefit in terms of league table position and the potential for going four points clear before anyone else kicks off: "I don't look at this moment about one point, three points, four points. It's after the weekend then it is interesting to look at the league table and not after the game we have played."

The manager was much more willing to speak on the form of Ryan Gravenberch, who won Liverpool's Player of the Month and has shown himself to be integral to the midfield structure:

"[His improved form] is not that much of a surprise that if you bring quality like Ryan Gravenberch in, and he has the right programme and team-mates, he can progress. That's what we are seeing at the moment.

"Now it is up to him to keep the standards as they are at the moment. That's a challenge because he, like all the others, has to play every three days. It is also a challenge because he didn't play a lot of games last season. I think now he has already played more 90-minute games than he did in the past two seasons, so it will be interesting to see how he copes with it. But until now, he has done very well."

Slot did show a willingness to look ahead as he discussed the upcoming international break, and a question on his player selection strategy allowed him to expand on the particular challenge inherent in having a side filled with international talent:

"The first thing I look at is tomorrow. The difference between this international break and the last one is that this time we play a late kick-off on Sunday and last time we played Saturday so it gives us one extra day of rest, which is always helpful - especially for the ones who come back from South America with jet lag."

Liverpool play Crystal Palace on Saturday before the second international break of the season; if the Reds win tomorrow, they stay top over the period.