Arne Slot has made a great start as Liverpool head coach and is making his mark on the squad. However, he has admitted he is still learning from the players “day by day.”
Even the most anxious of supporters will have had their worries somewhat eased by Slot’s assured start as Liverpool head coach.
The Dutchman didn’t have long to work with many of his key players following a busy summer of international football, but he has managed to get his ideas across effectively.
This is all still a work in progress, though, of course, as Slot himself admitted in his pre-West Ham programme notes.
“Before the last game, I actually told the players that I am still learning from them day by day, and one of the things I was curious about was how they would react to beating AC Milan in the Champions League,” Slot said.
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“I had already seen their reaction to the defeat against Nottingham Forest and this was very positive, but reacting to a big win against one of Europe’s most historical clubs is also a test in its own way.
“We had faced a similar situation after beating Manchester United and we followed that up with the loss to Forest, so it was very pleasing to see us cope with these kind of challenges the way we did over the last week because it shows a strong mentality.
“Again, we will need this tonight and in the future.”
For the third-round League Cup tie against West Ham, Slot has a strong squad to pick from, with only Harvey Elliott and Alisson missing from his usual set of players.
Among those expected to start are Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez, Jarell Quansah, Cody Gakpo and Federico Chiesa.
Trey Nyoni and Tyler Morton could also play some part at Anfield, having missed Tuesday night’s under-21 match against Harrogate in the EFL Trophy.
Despite potentially making several changes, Slot insisted the “reality” of his team selection will be “quite simple.”
He explained: “There has been a lot of focus on which team I would select for this tie, but the reality is quite simple – I will select one that I feel is in our best interests both in terms of looking to qualify for the next round and using the squad as best as we possibly can.
“At the time of writing these notes, the players have not trained since the win over AFC Bournemouth so, as usual, it will be a case of assessing who is best placed to start this game, but one thing should be very clear – whoever takes to the field will be capable of contributing to what we hope will be another strong team performance.”
