While there have been no incoming transfers at Liverpool so far this summer and the clock is ticking for sporting director Richard Hughes to get any potential deals over the line, the work behind the scenes has been ongoing. Slot has mentioned several times that he inherited a strong group of players from Jurgen Klopp — and that it is his job to get even more out of them.
So far, the signs have been positive. Liverpool put together some excellent moves in the second half of the game with Ipswich in particular and Ryan Gravenberch impressed at the base of the midfield . The work on moving towards a more possession-oriented style appears to have paid off.
According to The Times , the tactical move to place more emphasis on one and two-touch play has seen a change to rondos in training. The drill — where one or two players in the middle attempt to win the ball back as those in a circle around them quickly knock it between each other — is now a main part of the session rather than a warm-up exercise.
Slot and his assistants, including Sipke Hulshoff , discourage fancy flicks and tricks and the emphasis is on keeping possession for as sustained a period as possible. They want the focus to be on opening up a player's body shape and concentrating on moving into better positions, making passes simpler. By doing so, the patient approach and working of angles translate into what Slot wants in matches: fewer risks being taken and more control.
"Maybe the only slight difference there is, is that after we win the ball, I like to go forward just as Jurgen liked it, but I sometimes like it when players try to keep the ball and not play the difficult ball, where Jürgen or the former regime maybe liked the chaotic scenes in and around the 16 a lot as well," he said before the visit to Ipswich . "They were really, really, really successful with that for so many years."
The Liverpool squad is (unsurprisingly) said to have wholeheartedly got on board with the changes and thrown themselves into the sessions with 100 per cent conviction. Slot’s attention to detail, meanwhile, means that they are pushed and challenged as much as possible. A new voice around the training ground and a new head coach to impress can be no bad thing for keeping everyone on their toes and refreshed .
Ruben Peeters , The Times adds, has tweaked some of the sessions to listen to how the players are feeling physically. The work of the lead physical performance coach will be vital for preventing injuries and managing the roster effectively, with Liverpool currently having no problems on a medical front (albeit we are only one game in).
Liverpool.com says: Slot has slotted in at Liverpool as seamlessly as anyone could have hoped so far and the signs are really promising. The first win was good and from what we have seen in training, it is good for the players to have a different voice to listen to and someone else to learn from. There is plenty more to come, but it's hard not to be impressed up to now.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Most Popular
Comments / 0