Jarell Quansah details private conversation with Arne Slot day after 'kick up the backside'
Jarell Quansah has detailed his conversation with Arne Slot the day after he was given a "kick up the backside" during Liverpool's 2-0 victory over Ipswich Town on the Premier League's opening weekend.
The Reds defender was, in the eyes of many, harshly withdrawn at half-time of the Portman Road clash by his new manager despite the score only being 0-0, being replaced by Ibrahima Konate in a tactical move by the Dutchman.
Slot had stated that he was extremely unhappy with Liverpool losing "too many duels" before defensively and offensively, deciding to pull Quansah at the interval. Since then, however, the 21-year-old is yet to play a single minute for the Reds.
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The center-back has now broken his silence on what was said between him and Slot after the game, revealing that the Dutchman had explained his decisions in a "fair" way and clarified what he needs to do to earn his place back in the side.
"The next day he pulled me in," Quansah told The Times. "Basically, he just went through his mindset and why he made the decision, ultimately. I think the reasons he gave me were fair enough.”
The defender also revealed he "purposely" trained the next day to get over the situation and kick on ahead of the next game, highlighting not only his maturity but his will to focus on the positives.
"It’s never a nice feeling as a footballer to be subbed off at half-time,” Quansah said. “But at the end of the day, it was the gaffer’s decision — obviously it worked. I can only focus on myself and try to improve. I purposely trained the next day so I could get it out of my head and kick on and look forward to the next game, really. That’s all it’s ever been, I’ve just been waiting for the opportunity.”
He added: “Some players might go under [in that situation], but it’s a long season. It’s not like it’s happened at the end of the season and I’ve got a month off to think about it. I’ve got the whole season to try to prove myself. It’s better it happened now than at any other point in the season. It gives me a bit of a kick up the backside, you could say. I’ll keep grafting on the training pitch.”
Quansah was left out of Lee Carsley's first England squad for the Nations League fixtures against the Republic of Ireland and Finland, with the interim manager stating he wanted him to play more games for the Under-21s before playing for the men's team. That saw the former Bristol Rovers loanee handed a start in Friday's 0-0 draw with Northern Ireland in UEFA Euro U-21 qualification, putting in a man-of-the-match performance and helping to keep a clean sheet.
Quansah will now look to impress once more in Monday's friendly with Austria at Luton's Kenilworth Road, where Slot could well have one eye on the game in Hertfordshire to see how his third-choice center-back has responded to his brutal subbing on the opening weekend.