What Arne Slot did after first Liverpool win is here to stay

If there was one thing missing for the Liverpool supporters who had made the early-morning, cross-country trek to get to Portman Road for midday last Saturday, it was the absence of a post-match celebration with the new boss himself. The full-time whistle of the 2-0 win over Ipswich Town was the signal for Arne Slot to head straight down the tunnel to prepare for his post-game debrief with his players and the subsequent deluge of media obligations that come with life as a Premier League manager.

Or, in Slot's case, head coach.

Reds supporters have become accustomed to the full-time theatrics of the Dutchman's predecessor.

Jurgen Klopp's bond with the fans of the club he served for nine long and often decorated years become as close to unique as is possible in the top flight.

Whether it was the booming fist pumps or the pitch-side acknowledgment at the end of the away games, Klopp always ensured those who had backed the team on the day were afforded their own recognition when it was all said and done.

For Slot, though, he is trying to walk a fresh path to the man who, personality-wise, is irreplaceable in the hearts of supporters.

Instead, the new custodian insists he is no Klopp clone and plans to build a bond with Liverpool's worldwide fanbase in a different way to how his charismatic predecessor did.

Slot is no tribute act and while there are elements of the football that will be similar, each passing week is revealing just how different the new coach is to the one who he took over from at the start of June.

"My way of doing things is let the team play in the best possible way and they enjoy the team playing and in that way they will hopefully admire, which is the word you use, or I will get a bond with them," Slot says.

"But don’t expect me to go after the game and make fist pumps. That is not going to be my style. So it is more that I let the team play in a certain way and they like the team and because of that they will like the manager as well.

"[The Feyenoord fans] liked the way we played. They liked what they saw on the pitch, they liked how we pressed on the pitch, how we played with the ball. There was never a moment I was there standing in front of them. That has not been my style.

"You never know things can change. I am young. But normally you wouldn’t see that from me.

"It is the way the team plays that has something to do with me and hopefully that will create the bond we have. It is more the style of the play the team has than me doing things before, during or after.

"I might [run the touchline one day] but that would be to help the team. Not to create something with the fans and I don’t think it is necessary because the fans are always behind the team. I don’t think they need me to do something different or special to sing or help the team."

As if to add further contrast to the person he has directly replaced this summer, Slot was coolness personified on the touchline last weekend as an energetic and aggressive Ipswich side eventually ran out to steam in the second period to allow the visitors to make their superior quality tell.

While some of Klopp's more combustible and, yes, regrettable moments came during and in the immediate aftermath of some hotly-contested fixtures, Slot appears as though a more cerebral approach will be taken and the early signs suggest the former Feyenoord boss has a particularly high threshold when it comes to maintaining his composure.

He adds: "I wouldn’t say I [have] lost it but sometimes you have some frustrations and nine out of 10 times in the life of a manager it comes from referees decisions. But, no, that sometimes happens but I’ve not lost in a way where people are saying what is he doing? No, I think it is important to keep [calm].

"The only thing I can do is help the team before and during the game and then afterwards the boys have done so much work that they will be there to thank the fans. I might be there but I will never be in front of them, always behind them."

The destination at Liverpool, as ever, remains the top of the Premier League mountain, but, under Slot, it appears as though there is an alternative route now being mapped out.