Slot Talk: "Surprised" by the Consistency of his Side
Today at 02:00 PM
Don't worry, he hasn't forgotten about Nottingham Forest
Speaking to the press ahead of the late Saturday kick-off against Aston Villa, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot suggested he was not totally surprised about his side near-lights out start to the season:
I don't think surprised is the right word to use because I knew the quality of our team. But quality is one thing, but to be consistent is the second thing and I'm not surprised in this because from the moment I started working with them I saw how much energy they put in on a daily basis. And that is, I think, the reason why you can be consistent – if you do the work on a daily basis. You can be consistent and then sometimes a bit of luck comes with that as well. Most of our results were, I think, deserved but some of them were a close call and then maybe you have a bit of luck as well. But in general, [I'm] not surprised because of the quality I already thought was in the team, and when I started working with them I also saw how much effort they put in to get these results.
He's correct in his assessment that quality on paper is not the same thing as results, and stringing together the record he's already got is a challenge (despite its imperfection). As he prepares for the final match before the November international break, Slot hopes to manage his side by maintaining a realistic perspective:
I'm not trying to manage expectations with the squad because we don't talk about expectations. We do talk about expectations and the only expectations I have is that they put the same effort in on a daily basis, like they've done for the past three, four, five months and probably for the last six or seven years – but I'm only here for three, four, five months now. That's the only expectation there is – that they work every day as hard as they can to get their habits, our habits, what we want to see on the pitch in the best possible way. And with that, normally results come as well. But I'm not asking them to win every game – I'm hoping they do – but what I do ask from them is they put the effort in on a daily basis, and that's the only thing we focus on. And I think the players, first of all, after Saturday they think about their national team. And when they come back then we focus on the games you were just talking about.
Slot's Liverpool face Aston Villa at Anfield on Saturday and hope to go into the November international break maintaining their grip on the top of the table.
