Arne Slot was not able to sign some of the players he wanted ahead of his first Premier League game as Liverpool manager but the Dutchman said on Friday that he was happy with the strength of the squad Jurgen Klopp had left him.
Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi decided not to join Liverpool despite the club’s best efforts, Slot told reporters, adding that it was difficult to find players who would improve his squad. “We go forward with the ones we have,” Slot said ahead of today’s visit to newly-promoted Ipswich Town. “(Wataru) Endo did well in pre-season. We’re in a good place... Zubimendi decided not to come, we did every effort. If a player decides not to come then it’s obvious he’s not coming.”
Slot said he was happy with how quickly he had been able to implement his playing style at Liverpool, who won their tenth League Cup last season. “Jurgen left the team in a good place and we are trying to build from there...we’re not changing everything. Actually, we (didn’t) change that much because many things were already good,” he said.
“Fortunately for me, a lot of this playing style the boys already knew, because many things have stayed the same and we have tried to adjust where we can to improve the team. Last season was also a season where they could win a trophy with this team, so we are hoping and aiming for the same.”
The former Feyenoord manager said there were no easy matches in the Premier League and his players were ready to face Ipswich. “They did really well in the last few years under their manager (Kieran McKenna). It’s interesting to see what’s going to happen tomorrow,” Slot added.
Slot insisted Liverpool could still challenge for the title after finishing third last season even if there was a lack of new recruits to Anfield. “That argument I don’t understand - if you don’t strengthen the team you become weaker,” said Slot. “That’s a bit weird because normally you would either stay the same - and I truly believe that (on) the training ground you can help players and the teams to improve, and that is also what happened here in the recent years, that the training ground really helped the team to improve... If you keep bringing players in sometimes the energy in the group goes down as well.”