Alisson Becker explains 'hardest part' of Liverpool change and what Arne Slot has told him

The squad is largely the same, the challenge unaltered. And as Alisson Becker holds court on the upper floor of the AXA Training Centre, the view out on to the training fields is no different to that of a few months earlier.

But, in many ways, everything has changed for Liverpool and their indomitable goalkeeper.

After almost nine years under Jurgen Klopp during which every major honour was collected, the Reds stepped into a new era last weekend when head coach Arne Slot led his team to a 2-0 triumph at Ipswich Town in their Premier League opener.

Alisson, having reaffirmed his Liverpool commitment by resisting the temptation of a move to Saudi Arabia this summer, was once again between the sticks. And after only returning from Copa America duty at the start of the month, his initial impression of the fresh approach from the Reds was positive.

“Very good," he says. "It was a good start for us in the Premier League and also in pre-season. There are a lot of things to work on but all the players are excited about the style of the new manager - the way he thinks about football is pretty similar to what we had before, but he is changing a little bit the way of training and we are enjoying that."

His first conversation with the new boss was similarly encouraging. “Yes, it was good," he says. "The first contact is really important. It does not define the relationship for the year or the years, but it was really important to see how clear he is in his ideas and see how cool he is as a person as well.

"He is a really nice person, a family guy, family man with a lot of conviction in his ideas of what he wants from the players and the team and what he wants to achieve. His goals are for greatness, great things at the club. The same as mine. So it was a really good conversation."

Asked if it was clever of the club to bring in someone not dissimilar to Klopp in terms of playing style, Alisson adds: "Yeah, I think it was. Sometimes people make football too complicated.

"If you can make it as simple as possible for the players, we have top-quality players here in our squad, if you make that simple for them, bring good ideas that we are going to work out, it is the best way of doing that. I think it was the right choice. And he is bringing new energy for us as well."

It says much about the travails of both the Liverpool defence last season and the fitness concerns that hampered Alisson that should the Brazilian keep a clean sheet against Brentford at Anfield on Sunday, it would be his first successive Premier League shut-out in the same season for 10 months.

“I know my main role is still keeping clean sheets and making saves," says the 31-year-old. “It is important for me to play the way I like to play and to use my strengths - and it is also good to feel important for the team."

What, then, has Slot said should be expected of Alisson? "His way of playing is the way I like to play, starting build-up, not only kicking long balls," adds the goalkeeper.

"If the manager prepares the team for that, it’s the best thing because everyone wants the ball, everybody wants to play and everybody shows themselves to get the ball so I have a lot of options on the pitch to play the pass.

"I don’t only have one option. It’s not that he says 'just play short passes, you cannot kick long balls’. He is open to everything and understands that in football sometimes you are going to use long balls.

"We train it. Myself, Virgil, we have quick players up front. If we can create spaces starting from goal kicks or deep positions then that is also good for us. Some games we're going to play the way the manager wants, Some other games he's going to need to adapt.”

There have been other changes, with training sessions now slightly longer and more focus on team meetings. "It is good to visualise what we are going to do in the training sessions and what we did in the last sessions that was good and not so good," says Alisson. "The staff is using all the tools that they have to make us a better team."

Alisson has also had to come to terms with the disbanding of the long-established goalkeeper coaching department. Compatriot Taffarel remains, but both former head of first-team goalkeeping John Achterberg and assistant Jack Robinson left at the end of last season.

"That is the hardest part," says the Liverpool shot-stopper. "Not just because of the work but also the personal level. I've been here for six years and created a lot of good relationships, mainly with the goalkeeper coaches.

"It's a big change in the routine. Fabian Otte (new head of first-team goalkeeper coaching) who has come in is a really nice guy, really enthusiastic. He is young and brings a lot of energy, and he likes to work. That's what I need on the pitch.

"On a personal level, the relationships I created here, they continue. I am still in touch with John and Jack and they will be friends for life. I have a great gratitude to them for the things they did for me. The way they worked, they were much more than professionals. They were top.

"And all the members of staff who have left leave a legacy here. Not only in my life, but in the life of all the players for what they did here.

"We made history, but it's done. This is a new beginning, a new era. We are really happy with the way things are going, and we hope that we can bring results, and at the end of the season bring trophies for the club."

The new Liverpool. Different but, in many ways, very much the same. And Alisson remains a central figure.