Arne Slot all smiles at Liverpool press conference - but one issue is clearly playing on his mind
Facing the media again less than 12 hours after his latest post-match press conference, Arne Slot was in good spirits at the AXA Training Centre on Friday morning. And why would he not be, having seen his Liverpool side demolish Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 to book their place in next month’s League Cup final.
Newcastle United and a first trip to Wembley awaits for the Reds’ Dutch head coach, as he goes in search of clinching his first trophy at the first time of asking since succeeding Jurgen Klopp.
He celebrated Liverpool’s latest win with a glass of wine before attention swiftly turned to the FA Cup and Sunday’s trip to Plymouth Argyle. And he was cracking jokes throughout at his latest exchange with the press.
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“They are friends again, huh?” he teased when informed of how Reds legend Jamie Carragher had praised Virgil van Dijk the night before, having insisted the Dutchman is ‘too good for the highest level of football’.
“But we are not playing Derby County!” he responded when asked if Trent Alexander-Arnold could be back fit for the Merseyside derby.
And when it came to the latest cloaked queries about the futures of his vice-captain and Van Dijk, he was just as playful.
“Good health for him and his family, that is the first thing I wish him,” he initially said when asked what he hopes lies in store in the future for his captain, before confirming he hopes to continue working with Van Dijk.
He was at it again when quizzed whether Conor Bradley could become first-choice for Liverpool, should Alexander-Arnold be out injured for an extended period of time or even leave the club, Slot smirked at the creativeness of the question.
“He would be proud of you that you come up with a different way of asking this question!” he responded, pointing at Sky Sports who are predominantly tasked with quizzing the Dutchman on the future of his out of contract players.
But there was one thing that irritated Slot in particular on Friday morning as the cheerful mask briefly slipped. For the second time in three days, the Reds head coach again aired his frustrations at being forced to leave senior players out of his matchday squad due to the restraints from being limited to naming nine substitutes for domestic matches.
And this latest retort came somewhat unprompted - with a new motivation this time in reference to handing minutes to academy players - when questioned about Liverpool’s trip to Aston Villa being rearranged for Wednesday, February 19.
“I said before, two or three days ago, maybe it is the last time I have to talk about this,” he started. “But if you are a club that has to play so many games, even clubs that don’t have to play so many games have 22 or 23 players.
“To then go to a game with 20 players, that’s not a problem because you can only make five substitutions. But you want to create something and you want to give academy players a chance once in a while as well.
“But if you can only bring 20 players, that is the biggest problem for the academy players. If I would have had 23 players yesterday, then James McConnell and maybe Rio (Ngumoha) or Trey (Nyoni) were in the squad and it was an ideal moment for them to get a bit of playing time yesterday.
“But yeah, I could only bring 20. So I think if you look at the long-term future for England, for their players, for the academy players, it would be a smart decision to go to 23.”
And then, well aware of how clubs with smaller squads have been vocal critics of such suggestions in the past, Slot delivered the perfect response.
“And don’t tell me that that is a disadvantage for the smaller clubs!” he insisted. “Because I have nine fantastic substitutes if I have 20. It’s not that all of a sudden I have 12 great substitutes.
“Nine is already enough but it’s more giving chances to younger players as well. That would be beneficial if we went to 23, like every other league in Europe.”
For the second time this week, Slot has made his stance heard. But you imagine it will take much more than the Dutchman twice airing his grievances publicly in quick-succession for English football to sit up, take notice and follow the continent's lead.