Both Arne Slot and Richard Hughes have had differing starts to their Liverpool careers, ahead of the new Premier League season kicking off…
THINGS Arne Slot could have said and done in his first press conference:
- Committed to Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back.
- Thrown Richard Hughes under a bus.
- Cast doubt on the future of Darwin Nunez or Luis Diaz.
- Questioned Martin Zubimendi’s character.
- Played down Liverpool’s capabilities going into the new season without any new players.
Unsurprisingly, he did none of these.
Still, there are managers and managers of rivals who would gladly indulge in such sullen acts of self-preservation at the expense of genuine ambition.
There are things we didn’t get to hear from press conferences that I would always like more of.
How does he view the squad after a week of having everyone back?
If not the name-checked Zubimendi, then how does he view his current options for midfield?
Is Diogo Jota messing though, gaffer?
Generally, the overriding sense of arrival from Slot is reverberating and reassuring.
He presents as someone who is exactly where he should be. Somebody who has a job to do and needs to get back to a 20 by 20 square of grass and a tactics board.
It’s been notable how many times he’s used the word ‘perfection’ over the summer.
A yearning, at times, to tell us we’re not perfect. A sly wink and nod at the unspoken sense that he really wants us to be.
Striving for perfection is a fool’s errand if you believe you can attain it. If you believe there is always an opportunity to be better in some form, perfection can be a healthy vice.
He wants to point out the squad was left in good condition whilst reiterating there are ways we can improve. He seeks perfection rather than demands it.
It’s now a waiting game into how consequential his actions will implement such improvement.
We will likely see more patience. At times more stagnation and inactive periods in games. If that means we concede less goals in the first 15 minutes, I’m sure we’ll all deal.
Slot is comfortable in the guise of head coach. He will call himself manager, we will call him manager, however his entire schtick is geared towards coaching.
So, as we look for clues into a man less transparent than the last, we realise it’s ourselves who maybe need the greatest adaptation.
In addition to Slot, there is Richard Hughes. Another new face. Another delve into the unfamiliar.
Unfortunately, narratives have already been attached from some after this week. Forget your last win, now you’re only as good as your last transfer.
If he hasn’t already, Hughes will have realised quickly that a job at Liverpool takes on greater gravitas than most.
We need him to be batting any criticism off, to be the coolest man in the room. Frankly, he needs to be working three steps ahead of everyone right now.
There’s the glaring need to have the squad ready to compete on all fronts compounded by a PR exercise following the Zubimendi drama.
Liverpool need to remain calm. Offering a sense of desperation to the market won’t benefit anyone. That being said, this remains mostly a situation of their own making.
Thankfully, we’ve got the football to occupy us again.
Ipswich looks like a massive custard pie. A promoted side with a revitalised Portman Road welcoming Premier League football for the first time in 22 years.
Liverpool have to navigate this. They have their own vigour to bring to the party.
We’ve witnessed a maturity in Harvey Elliott and Jarell Quansah in pre-season.
Mohamed Salah is seemingly loving the new regime. Ryan Gravenberch looks starving for what’s ahead.
Whisper it: nobody is out injured.
We return to the notion of a battle of wits we can see. To key moments of brilliance and frustration and bad officiating.
But these are the fundamentals which will tell us how life under this manager, sorry, head coach, might unfold. And we need more of them.
Sometimes, when uncertainty reigns, the best thing to do is to look into someone’s eyes and glean what you can from how they present themselves.
Arne Slot is someone who doesn’t give much away, but his calmness is reassuring nonetheless.
He believes he’s exactly where he’s supposed to be.
Buy Dan Morgan’s book ‘Jürgen Said To Me’ on Klopp, Liverpool and the remaking of a city…
