Arne Slot is remaining typically modest as Liverpool close in on winning the Premier League title
Arne Slot’s Liverpool are about to dethrone Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City as Premier League champions(Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)
Liverpool might be on the verge of winning the Premier League title. But Arne Slot is in no mood to start patting himself on the back.
The Reds boss looks set to become only the fifth manager to win the revamped English top-flight at the very first time of asking. He will follow in the footsteps of Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini and Antonio Conte.
Such an achievement is made even more impressive by the fact that Slot is working with a predominantly inherited squad.
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The Dutchman has also ultimately defied the odds considering many expected a drop-off from Liverpool following the departure of the long-serving Jurgen Klopp after a trophy-laden nine years.
Manchester United and Arsenal both struggled after Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger left Old Trafford and the Emirates respectively.
But opting to sidestep praise coming his way, Slot instead paid tribute to his backroom staff and players as he insisted out you cannot compare the Reds’ situation to teams from yesteryear.
“We only have the chance to win the league this season – just to make that clear!” he said, pointing out the Premier League title is not won yet. “There’s still five games to go.
“That’s the nice thing about football. everybody can have an opinion and because it happened at Arsenal and at United everybody is saying this is different, it’s the only time its happened.
“But probably there were other managers years ago who were just as successful at different clubs and then the next one [manager] came in and he was successful too.
“I know when Pep Guardiola left Barcelona, Luis Enrique came quite close after him and he won the treble as well so it is not impossible, but it’s more about the team you inherit.
“Were that United team at the end of an era? I don’t remember but you tell me it was an ageing squad so that is different.
“It is so hard to compare things in football, let alone to compare it with the current situation when we are 10 years onwards, the Premier League has changed.
“It is difficult to compare but these are the stories everyone wants to read so that is why journalists always write about it [and compare] what happened at United and Arsenal. It’s a nice story so that is why people want to write about it.”
Slot continued: “It would be a bit weird to judge myself – that is for other people to judge – but I can judge the performance staff and the medical staff.
“And they should get a lot of credit, because I think over the course of this season we did have our injuries, but that’s what every team has, because you cannot go through this league without any injuries, therefore the schedule is too much, as we all know.
“But we were always able to perform at our standards in terms of physicality, so that is a very big compliment to the medical and the performance staff. Where, of course, the technical staff is also part of that process.
“To judge myself would be a bit weird, and that’s for other people too. I will judge myself maybe at the end of the season, look back at where I could do better or whatever, but to do this in public, that would be a bit weird.”
While Slot might have evaded praise coming his own way, he did highlight Ryan Gravenberch as one of Liverpool’s most improved players this season.
“I think he surprised the outside world the most by the position he plays in and how he’s done,” Slot said of his compatriot. “But I think they have all had a very good season.
“They have worked really hard and surprised me by how much they want to do it as a team, to be as consistent as they are and to work so hard every single day.
“But, yeah, maybe Ryan has had the biggest uplift of all the players but that is what also comes from more playing time sometimes so you need to be given your chance to show what you are made of.”