Arne Slot happy with strong Liverpool squad ahead of his first Premier League game

LONDON – Arne Slot was not able to sign some of the players he wanted ahead of his first English Premier League game as Liverpool manager, but the Dutchman said on Aug 16 that he was happy with the strength of the squad Jurgen Klopp has left him.

Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi decided not to join the Reds despite the club’s best efforts, Slot said, adding that it was difficult to find players who would improve his squad.

“We go forward with the ones we have,” he said ahead of the visit to newly promoted Ipswich Town on Aug 17.

“(Wataru) Endo did well in pre-season. We’re in a good place... Zubimendi decided not to come, we did every effort. If a player decides not to come, then it’s obvious he’s not coming.”

The 45-year-old also insisted that Liverpool can still challenge for the title after finishing third last season, even if there are a lack of new recruits at Anfield.

“That argument I don’t understand – if you don’t strengthen the team, you become weaker?” questioned Slot.

“That’s a bit weird because normally you would either stay the same – and I truly believe that (on) the training ground you can help players and the teams to improve, and that is also what happened here in the recent years, that the training ground really helped the team to improve.

“If you keep bringing players in, sometimes the energy in the group goes down as well.”

Focusing on the players he has, he added that he was happy with how quickly he had been able to implement his playing style at Liverpool, who won a record-extending 10th League Cup last season.

“Jurgen left the team in a good place and we are trying to build from there... we’re not changing everything. Actually, we (didn’t) change that much because many things were already good,” he said.

“Fortunately for me, a lot of this playing style the boys already knew, because many things have stayed the same and we have tried to adjust where we can to improve the team.

“Last season was also a season where they could win a trophy with this team, so we are hoping and aiming for the same.”

The former Feyenoord coach is new to the Premier League, but he knows there are no easy matches and his players are ready to face Ipswich with no major injury concerns.

“They did really well in the last few years under their manager (Kieran McKenna). It’s interesting to see what’s going to happen tomorrow,” Slot added.

The home side, meanwhile, have returned to the English top flight for the first time in 22 years and know there is a lot of work ahead of them.

“Our focus is going to be on how we continue to work day-to-day, how we continue to improve, to adapt to the level that we’re coming up against and be as competitive as we can be in every game,” said McKenna, a former Manchester United coach.

“We want to be a really aggressive, dominant, attacking team. We want to dominate the ball, create a lot of chances and score a lot of goals. We need to stay brave, we need to keep our aggressive, attacking mindset.”

There was some good news and publicity for Ipswich, as singer Ed Sheeran fulfilled “any football fan’s dream” and purchased a minority stake in his hometown club.

Sheeran’s total stake in the club is 1.4 per cent and he will not join their board, Ipswich said in a statement. But the artiste, who often attends Ipswich’s home matches, will have an executive box at Portman Road, the club added.

“Really excited to announce that I have bought a small percentage of my hometown football club Ipswich Town,” Sheeran, 33, posted on Instagram.

“It’s any football fan’s dream to be an owner in the club they support and I feel so grateful for the opportunity.” REUTERS, AFP