Journalist claims Arne Slot had Liverpool stalwart ‘cursing’ him in ‘crazy’ training ground claim
A Dutch journalist has claimed that Arne Slot‘s demands of the Liverpool players in pre-season training had one of them calling him ‘crazy’.
The 46-year-old replaced Jurgen Klopp in the Anfield dugout over the summer and has had a tremendous start in the job, winning 11 of his first 13 games in charge and losing just one.
The Dutchman’s methods are clearly working, even if one of the longest-serving Reds players didn’t quite take to them immediately.
Slot was called ‘crazy’ by Mo Salah
Marcel van der Kraan told the Kick-Off podcast that Mo Salah launched an X-rated tirade at Slot during pre-season training over the intense demands from the new man in charge.
The journalist claimed (via Voetbal Zone): “Salah was cursing in the summer about everything Slot wanted from him. ‘You’re f***ing crazy,’ Salah said at one point. That was about the intensity Slot demands, all the work the attackers have to do. I heard this from guys who were at that training camp.”
Salah doing the business for Slot on the pitch
Only those from within the Liverpool camp could verify whether or not that version of events is 100% accurate, but it nonetheless hints at a determination from Slot to command respect from the Liverpool players from the get-go after Klopp reigned for almost a decade.
For those such as Salah who’d been at the club for several years, hearing a fresh voice and adjusting to new instructions would likely have felt like a big change, and seemingly one to which he didn’t warm immediately.
However, even if there was a bit of friction between him and the head coach over the summer, it hasn’t had an adverse effect on the 32-year-old’s performances. If anything, it may even have galvanised him somewhat, with our number 11 registering eight goals and seven assists in 13 games so far this season.
In the intense environment of elite football, there’s bound to be heated exchanges between players and management at times. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing once it isn’t allowed to fester and once results on the pitch are positive.
Thankfully for Liverpool, any supposed differences of opinion between Salah and Slot appear to have been nipped in the bud quite rapidly, much to the team’s benefit given the forward’s superb form and the Dutchman’s hugely promising start to life in the Anfield dugout.
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