In the annals of Liverpool Football Club history, the year of 2024 might, in time, come to be defined as a seismic one. From the January bombshell of Jurgen Klopp's announcement that he was to step down, through to the restructuring at executive level and then the appointment of Arne Slot as the first-ever 'head coach', it's been a period of deep transition.

Results on the pitch that have been gleaned from the same set of players that Slot inherited from Klopp have masked the fact that the club has been in as big a state of flux it has for years. The word 'transition' in football often carries negative connotations and can be used as mitigation or excuse, but it's been seamless so far at Anfield, which has been no fluke.

Confirmation of Klopp's exit put in motion a chain of events that saw Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group accelerate their plans for the multi-club model before Michael Edwards was enticed back in with a new job role as FSG's 'CEO of football', essentially becoming the head of the club on a day-to-day basis in place of Mike Gordon.

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The headhunting of Richard Hughes, from Bournemouth, to become the sporting director also saw Julian Ward return alongside Pedro Marques, who was recruited from Benfica as technical director within the Fenway fold itself. Hans Leitert came in as the organisation's global head of goalkeeping before Liverpool themselves set about the process of actually replacing Klopp.

Nailing the successor for a figure as revered and as talismanic as the German was the most daunting prospect FSG had faced in years but as 2024 draws to a close, there will be few arguing that it is one the Boston-based group have got wrong. As the Reds gear up for their final fixture of the year at West Ham United on Sunday, they do so as Premier League and Champions League leaders and strong favourites now for a 20th league title at the halfway mark of the term.

Factor in the need for a totally new backroom team to hit the ground running under Slot in Aaron Briggs, John Heitinga, Sipke Hulshoff and goalkeeping coach Fabian Otte, and it's clear the sequence of results are not the lingering effects of any 'new manager bounce'. Credit has to be spread across all departments for what is happening right now at Anfield and excitement is growing that a good season may now in fact become an exceptional one.

It's been a sensational start to Liverpool life for Slot, who is the first to talk up the squad that was bequeathed to him by Klopp back in the summer months. And while the Dutchman is right to highlight the quality and depth of the group of players he took control of upon his arrival on Merseyside, that does scant justice to the job he has performed in micromanaging a number of players and their specific roles to enable them to turn in what are career-best runs of form at present with the Reds.

Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch are at the forefront of that discussion but Mohamed Salah is enjoying one of his finest individual runs since his 2017 arrival and captain Virgil van Dijk has been arguably the best centre-back in Europe once more. For all the undoubted quality in the ranks at the AXA Training Centre, Slot's attention to detail has helped them all flourish further.

It has been a remarkable start for the former Feyenoord boss, but it remains just that, even if he is now entering his seventh month on the job at the beginning of 2025. The head coach and his staff will be acutely aware of that fact just now and it was something he was at pains to make clear in his press conference on Thursday night.

"If you are in this game for a long time, you know 20 games before the end, you don’t look at it," Slot said. "There are so many challenges that are still ahead of you. I think it was two months ago that we were two points behind Manchester City and look at what happened there."

Slot was not looking to score cheap points or send a dig in the direction of the dazed City; that's not his style, but his point was a valid one for anyone getting carried just now. Supporters, though, will have every right to start indulging in what 2025 could potentially bring. And why shouldn't they? Coaches and players have a duty to remain grounded but there is no such requirement of fans.

And if it does yield some of the game's major honours in Slot's first year on Merseyside, it can all be traced back to what, in time, may come to be viewed as a historic changing of the guard in 2024.