Arne Slot has declared Mohamed Salah “more involved than excluded” in his Liverpool plans, suggesting the Anfield contract row was bringing out the best in the superstar winger.
Salah’s recent remarks suggesting he is “disappointed” by the club’s failure to deliver a new deal have threatened to overshadow a huge week at Anfield, which hosts Real Madrid and Manchester City.
But in a twist on Salah’s remark that he is “more out than in” as the end of his contract nears, Slot sought to downplay the significance of the player’s comments.
“The only thing I can say is that if I look at my lineups, Mo is more in than out. So I can give you this quote,” Slot said. “I don’t think he’s distracted at all. He is fully focused on tomorrow’s match.
“If you had been at Axa [training centre] Today, I don’t think any player talked about it – at least not when I was there. The players always give each other the stick, so maybe they have done that now, but the players are also focused on the short term and that’s Madrid and City.
“Mo is in a good place right now.”
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has accused Salah of being “selfish” by ensuring his future was at the top of the agenda rather than upcoming showpiece fixtures.
“I focus a little more on what else he has [Carragher] said – he said Mo was one of the five best players Liverpool ever had and I completely agree with him, which is not an easy thing because there have been a lot of great players in this club,” Slot said.
“I don’t think it distracts Mo at all, maybe it even brings out the best in him if you look at his performances so far. As I’ve said many times before, I focus on the next match and if we had this match, another big match is coming and it continues.
“I talk to Mo about what I expect from him, as I do with all the other players, and he is in a good place at the moment. I’m not distracted by his comments and I don’t think his teammates are.
Slot defuses Salah’s grenade with humor
If Arne Slot wasn’t a football coach, he might get a job in a bomb disposal unit.
Liverpool’s head coach has been handed three hand grenades by inheriting the contract wrangling involving the three players which was the basis of a successful era.
While every comment about Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold makes it seem like Anfield is about to resemble a scene from Apocalypse nowSlot was a study in pacifism.
Salah has been in particularly explosive form on and off the pitch, with his most incendiary remarks following his most important performances this season. Slot was again dealing with the fallout ahead of Real Madrid’s visit in the Champions League.
The Dutchman’s response was to humorously defuse his opening line that Salah is “more in than out” – a subtle twist on the Egyptian’s observation that he is more “out than out.” in” regarding his future at Anfield – is seen as the perfect riposte.
Many managers would have hid behind the usual “no comment and move on”. Others might have even asked press officers to inform the assembled media that certain topics were off-limits. Slot’s pragmatic approach is to let the story run its course without inflaming it.
He has revealed nothing about why negotiations are at an impasse, but he has reacted to each player intervention with logic rather than frustration. And just like the most astute managers – Sir Alex Ferguson was the master – he knows the power of giving the media just enough to satisfy those who need copy, even if the full inside story is (sadly) rarely revealed during an open press conference. .
Tuesday’s performance is further evidence of how Slot has grown into his role, strengthened by results and the evolving relationship between him and the Kop.
As soon as he entered, Jürgen Klopp dominated the room, an audience immediately captivated, waiting for the entertainment. It was inevitable that Slot would have to warm up the crowd before he could assume similar status, but he made the ideal start to a daunting task, perhaps taking inspiration from the cool approach of his next opponent Carlo Ancelotti, rather than Klopp.
Club managers at Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester United status need to be equipped to discuss more than tactical and injury updates. They are the club’s ambassadors and spokespersons whenever a story creates hysteria. Only those with aura and authority can make a calm sound and appear to mean it.
Being top of the Premier League and Champions League of course helps create such a jovial atmosphere, with Slot’s recent press calls possessing more smiles than grunts.
There would be little tolerance for questions about whether “it’s starting to feel like a slot like Christmas” from the visiting media after a string of defeats, or whether Liverpool were in a world in which they were still mourning the absence of the precedent. manager, as many predicted in pre-season.
What Liverpool desperately wanted this season was a classy manager on the training pitch with personality in the face of incessant media tasks.
The important tests that really matter for Slot will be against Real Madrid on Wednesday and against Manchester City on Sunday.
But don’t underestimate the skill with which he handles questions about the future of the Anfield greats. By making each challenge seem enjoyable rather than annoying, Slot managed to reaffirm the idea that serious business is out in the field.