Arne Slot is not the first Liverpool boss to have been greeted by unenviable tasks in his in-tray after joining the Reds. Now six months into his Anfield reign, he continues to bat away questions about the club’s out-of-contract trio of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold with admirable grace.

A number of his predecessors inherited similar dilemmas, walking into a saga that was already well underway.

Gerard Houllier had to contend with Steve McManaman navigating the final year of his contract ahead of a Bosman transfer to Real Madrid, while Rafa Benitez lost Michael Owen to the same La Liga giants for a cut-price fee, given his own expiring contract status, but helped persuade Steven Gerrard reject Chelsea’s first flirtations.

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Meanwhile, Roy Hodgson saw Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano both push for the exit door as Liverpool found themselves in financial peril under former owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

But none quite compare to Slot’s own challenge, which is more beyond the Dutchman’s control than any of his predecessors.

The Reds are in a position of strength on the pitch, given their status as the best team in Europe at the moment on current form. But that does not stop speculation off it, with an understandable focus on the futures of three of Liverpool’s most trusted lieutenants.

Now within the final six months of their contracts, Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold are all well-documented to be free to agree pre-contract agreements with overseas clubs. And while the latter has offered no public update on negotiations, the former two have admitted they wish to stay but are still no closer to a breakthrough.

These are challenging waters for Slot, at a time where the intense scrutiny is far greater than any his predecessors had to contend with. Anything the trio say or do is analysed extensively in search of hidden meetings - such as cryptic social media posts and goal celebrations.

But rather than let such talk become a distraction, Slot continues to be amused by it. A relaxed figure in his press conferences, you would be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss is about as he continues to elegantly handle the most challenging of topics as though they were nothing at all.

“I talk to my players so if there is anything that worries them, then they share this with me,” he said of outside noise when asked about social media posts on his latest media outing on Tuesday. “That has not happened until now.

“I am not focused on social media posts or what is being said about us. If you do that as a Liverpool manager you have no life, because this is one of the biggest clubs in the world and every second of the day people talk about us.

“It already takes a lot of my time to prepare the next game and to look back at the game we just played. If I have to do this as well then I need a few days off once in a while as well!

Slot is a head coach and his focus is very much on the pitch, with him remaining unfazed by all this outside talk. A look at his record so far, losing just one of 28 matches to be top of both Premier League and Champions League tables and through to a domestic cup semi-final, and you have to applaud him.

But what happens when such subjects overlap? When a poor performance on the pitch is interpreted to have an exterior reason behind, such as Alexander-Arnold’s difficult showing against Manchester United only a week after a failed approach for his services for Real Madrid.

Slot has the most simple of answers.

“If we drop points when the team has injuries people will say, 'That's because you have injuries',” he said. “Mo misses the penalty against [Real] Madrid, he is distracted by his contract situation; if Trent has not his best performance, he is distracted by the contract situation.

“If they play really well, nobody tells me that's because they have a contract situation. We always try to find arguments, but nine out of 10 times the best argument is the quality of the teams you face or the game plan the other team has.”

There is understandably plenty of attention on Alexander-Arnold, but Slot continues to handle it well. In another strong sign of his man-management skills, he has managed to both accept that the defender was not at his best for Manchester United while also sheltering him from wider scrutiny.

The whole team was not at its best against the Red Devils, not just its vice-captain. There was a tactical explanation on Sunday for why he struggled against Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot.

And on Tuesday, similar sentiments were echoed. Slot has spoken to Alexander-Arnold after his performance and told him where he can improve, but this is nothing new and done after every game with his players.

To emphasise the point, the Dutchman even pointed to Alexis Mac Allister - a player he had just praised for being one of his most impressive and consistent performers - and his role in United’s second goal to promote this overall team message.

How he continues to protect his players by taking the sting out of the most difficult of topics is one of his most impressive traits yet. And having created such unity after succeeding Jurgen Klopp of all people is all the more admirable.

But I did see one change from Slot though ahead of facing Tottenham, as he offered some of his most guarded answers yet.

Ahead of the League Cup quarter-finals, he was happy to confirm that Caoimhin Kelleher would start in goal against Southampton and teased Federico Chiesa’s would-be role.

But there was none of that ahead of facing Spurs, with the Dutchman, beyond confirming Dominik Szoboszlai remains a doubt, keeping his cards very close to his chest as he declined to offer any line-up hints.

It is not lost on Slot that Liverpool are preparing for a semi-final and there is first trophy of his reign up for grabs. Having dismantled Tottenham so emphatically only a few weeks ago, with club legend Jamie Carragher referencing his pre-match press conference performance in the aftermath for the role it played, he is not offering Spurs any helping hands.

Now at the midway point of his first season, the stakes are getting higher and higher, and Slot’s focus very much remains on the pitch and giving his side the best possible chance of success.