Arne Slot impresses insiders after behind-the-scenes talk – but reality at Liverpool is about to hit

For what would have been more than a few managers in European football, the idea of ​​following such an iconic figure as Jurgen Klopp will have been too daunting at Liverpool.

Arne Slot, however, was reverent enough in his first outing as Klopp’s successor, without ever sounding like he felt he was lucky to now be in such a vaunted position.

Speaking in his press conference on Friday morning, Slot did not try to play down the enormity of Klopp’s achievements, but the German’s success was not exactly the elephant in the press room on the day the Dutchman faced the foreign press for the first time.

Asked about Klopp in his first question, Slot replied: “I think it’s not about what I’m telling you now. It’s more special what Jurgen has done for this club. When he arrived he said he was ‘the normal one’ but I think what made it special is the impression it left behind.

“Winning trophies, of course, but his style of play I think the fans liked. He may have said he was “the normal one”, but I think the fans see him differently. Maybe not as a person, but what it did for him. the club was more than normal, let’s put it that way.”

He later added, “I think you can look at it both ways. Yeah, it’s big shoes to fill. You can also look at it in a way that you’re inheriting a team and a team that has a winning culture.”

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Slot’s arrival was deliberately understated. After officially joining on June 1, the decision was made to hold off on holding a press conference as the dust settled on what had been an emotionally charged few months and weeks before Klopp’s departure at the end of the season.

It was a smart move and the sight of Slot working quickly with his squad at the AXA Training Center on Friday indicated a ‘head coach’ keen to get his ideas across quickly and avoid the noise that follows when he replaces Liverpool. their managers.

While Slot made a number of references to his style of play and why he was chosen as it best suited the one he previously enjoyed under Klopp, there will inevitably be subtle changes and differences in approach for supporters and players to get used to in the coming days. , weeks and months.

Staff from multiple departments who have interacted with Slot since his arrival have all spoken of a down-to-earth and confident demeanor that bodes well. The former Feyenoord manager is confident and unfazed by the scale of the task he now faces, even if the extent of Liverpool FC as a club will only become truly apparent from the pre-season tour of the United States later in this moment. month.

For now, Slot is simply eager to continue with what he feels he can make the biggest mark on: on the courts, working with the players at his disposal.

His calm, business-like approach at the weekend spoke volumes for how he intends to go about it at his new club and after years of the early days of pre-season being dominated by the dreaded lactate test under Klopp and his squad, there is a new exercise that is designed to be similarly punishing.

Liverpool have switched from the aforementioned Lactate Test to a Six Minute Race Test (6MRT) this pre-season, which is an endurance test which, as the name suggests, takes six minutes around a race track of 400 meters, with the exercise designed for those. assuming him to go as fast as possible to cover somewhere between 1.5 and 2km.

It was undertaken by Conor Bradley, Jarell Quansah and Sepp van Den Berg over the weekend and was overseen by Dr Conall Murtagh and new performance coach Ruben Peeters, with Slot encouraging players to ‘go all in’. The trio of youngsters looked suitably devastated after the test, as the team were given an early indicator of the methods that are now favoured.

Sunday saw the return of soccer balls, goals and cones as the players worked on a range of tactical and technical drills after some light gym work earlier in the afternoon at the AXA Training Centre. Players such as Fabio Carvalho, Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones were part of the session as Slot was given a glimpse of the burgeoning talent in his squad.

It could all be a change at Anfield next season, but there have been no sweeping statements or attempts to make a few famous soundbites in the early days of what is a brand new regime. Instead, just a quiet determination to get down to business.