Arne Slot sent David Moyes message as Liverpool expectations made clear

Arne Slot has been urged to forget about replacing Jurgen Klopp amid fears his Liverpool future could mirror that of David Moyes at Manchester United.

Former Feyenoord boss Slot has taken over as head coach at Anfield after Klopp called time on almost nine years in charge at the end of the season.

Klopp was the longest-serving Liverpool manager in more than 40 years and claimed eight trophies during his tenure, including the Reds' first league championship in 30 years and a sixth European Cup.

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Slot won both the Eredivisie and Dutch Cup with Feyenoord and led them to their first European final in 20 years. But former Liverpool captain and United midfielder Paul Ince fears the success under Klopp has made him an almost impossible act to follow and cites the experience of Moyes in following Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford.

"Whoever came after Sir Alex was going to have a poisoned chalice because you've got to kind of replicate what he had done," said Ince. “I think that was probably the downfall of David Moyes, who is a fantastic manager but he just couldn't succeed. So many different types of managers have come in and they’ve struggled and got nowhere near to the level of Sir Alex Ferguson.

“Hopefully it's not the case, but you kind of think it's just going to be the same thing with Arne Slot at Liverpool. He is coming to a massive club, who expect to be up there challenging for the Premier League. They expect to be challenging for every trophy and expecting him to replace Jurgen Klopp."

Ince added: "You can't replace Jurgen Klopp. He (Slot) has to be a man with his own ideas. Other issues he might face are whether Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah stay at the club, all these players have had relationships with Klopp for so many years and you could see how much they loved Klopp. You could see the passion they've got for him and the respect. Which players are going to want to stay, which players are going to want to leave?

“But listen, I know the fans will be backing Arne Slot to the hilt and wanting him to do well, the Liverpool fans are some of the best fans in the world. When you come into their club, you're part of their family. You don't really see Liverpool boo any fans or boo any players. They're just a loyal set of supporters.”

Ince, speaking to bet365, has also addressed the debate over Trent Alexander-Arnold's best position. The Liverpool man is expected to line up alongside Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham in midfield for England in their Euro 2024 group opener against Serbia on Sunday evening.

And Ince said: “When it comes to starting Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield it’s a tricky one because Serbia have got some good players, look at Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic, they score goals for fun so defensively we have to be spot on.

"It’s about how attacking you want to play. I think in the group stages you don't want to go all guns blazing, especially against a decent Serbia team. I like the idea of maybe putting Trent in there, alongside Rice. No one else has the passing ability that Trent has.

"If you ever want to get up the pitch, he can get you up the pitch. If you're playing the likes of Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane he can pick people out. So if it was me, I'd probably play Trent alongside Rice.”

And of Alexander-Arnold moving into midfield permanently for Liverpool, Ince added: "You've got to look at it from a defensive point of view. It's not just about getting the ball and pinging it at 60 yards, you've got to tackle, you've got to track back, you've got to understand the role.

“You've got to cover a lot of grass in playing a central midfield player. So whether Trent can do that, I don't know. What we know is that Trent for me has been an outstanding full-back for a long, long time."