Liverpool boss Arne Slot on Mo Salah signing a new 2 year contract at the club and their Premier League game with West Ham
Melwood, Liverpool, UK
Melwood, Liverpool, UK
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00:00Shorts.
00:02Danny, not my contract.
00:05You watched the Masters?
00:07Yes, I did.
00:09Not the whole time, but I saw a few holes.
00:13Who cut it?
00:16Why?
00:18He dropped four shots on the last three holes.
00:21Because he did very well.
00:23I went to bed when it was 13 or 14.
00:26Anyway, anyway.
00:35Mo's contract.
00:37What's your reaction to the fact that you're going to be working with Mo for another two years at least?
00:42Happy, of course.
00:44He's shown at this club for so many years in a row now how much of value he has for the team, for the club.
00:55So, as like I assume all our fans and his teammates, we are very happy that he extended for two more years.
01:02And hopefully he can show Sunday again how important he has been for the whole season to us.
01:09Is there relief as well?
01:11I think for the fans it is.
01:14I don't think it's a surprise to you that I knew a bit better how his contract situation went over the course of the whole season.
01:21So, maybe for the fans it was a pleasant surprise.
01:25I knew it a bit longer, of course, that things were heading in the right direction.
01:28I think it's also a big compliment for Richard that he achieved to an extent.
01:33Mo Salah, who is such a great player as a free agent, can go probably to every club in the world wherever he wants to.
01:39But he stayed at our club and that's also a compliment for Richard, I think.
01:46I'm assuming then you know more than others as to where Virgil van Dijk's contract is at the moment.
01:50So, how close are you to announcing a new deal for Virgil?
01:53I suppose, how does his position regarding his future contrast with that of Trent Alexander-Arnold at the moment?
02:00I think you know the answer.
02:03The boring answer, as always.
02:06We talk about contracts if they are signed, so in the situation with Mo we are talking about it.
02:11As long as they're not signed we don't talk about it.
02:13But I can tell you that I'm very happy with Virgil this season.
02:18He's been an incredible one for us.
02:20Even the last few games where maybe there were moments where he could do better,
02:25but if you look at the other 89 minutes, he's such an important player for us.
02:31So, yeah, let's hope he can do the same, what I just hoped for with Mo.
02:37He can do the same on Sunday as well, being our leader again,
02:41as he's always been this season against West Ham.
02:44You did drop that hint last week, though, that it's getting close.
02:48I don't read all the things that are told in the media.
02:53But, I mean, it's good news as well.
02:56In some ways this has been the most difficult point in the season for you,
03:01losing against Fulham and going back to those defeats to PSG and Newcastle as well.
03:07But the last time you lost in the league, of course, you then went 1-8 on the bounce in all competitions.
03:12So, that would obviously see you home in the title race for you to do that now.
03:16That would be nice if that happens again indeed.
03:18I think, talking about Paris Saint-Germain, this week probably brought our home game in a different perspective.
03:26If people were not aware yet of how good of a team they are, they probably are aware of that even more after seeing them play against Aston Villa.
03:36And if you then look back at our home game where, in my opinion, we were over 90 minutes the better team,
03:44then we might, might, might have a bit more credits about our performance than we got back then.
03:50But, indeed, losing against Fulham is not what we wanted.
03:54But, no matter if you win a game or you lose a game of football, if you play at home at Anfield,
04:00players know that they have to show up and that's what we're going to do on Sunday.
04:08Anna, working with Mo during your time here and being up close to him,
04:13what is it that makes him so special and why is it that obviously fans and the club and everyone connected here
04:19are so pleased today that this player is staying with you?
04:23First of all, he's always been judged as a player.
04:26He's always judged as a player, which is, of course, what you guys should do.
04:29But I also see him as a human being and he's a humble person, always wants to work hard,
04:34always puts a lot, a lot of effort in to become the player he has become.
04:40And he wants to stay at that level, so he just keeps on bringing that effort every single day.
04:45And what makes him special on the pitch is, in my opinion, that he can score goals.
04:51Now, there are more players who can score goals, but Mo can also score a goal
04:54if he's not in the best half hour or the best 15 minutes.
04:59And that's why he's mentally so strong as well.
05:03And you need to be that if you want to be seven or eight years at the highest level every three or four days.
05:08Apart from quality, about from physique, you need to be mentally really strong as well.
05:12And I think that's, apart from all the other things, how mentally strong he is, is probably what stands out for me.
05:22How much of an input did you have on him today and how much work did you do on keeping Mo here?
05:31I'm part of that process, but I don't think I deserve the compliments.
05:35I think it's, first of all, it's Mo's choice and his agent choice, what he wants.
05:39And second of all, the club, FSG, Richard, Michael Edwards, they put a lot of effort in him to extend.
05:45And effort mostly means money.
05:47But also effort, not only money.
05:53So I think what it might tell you as well, that it's not only a good season this season,
06:03we want to make a very good season next season as well.
06:05And I think Mo is convinced that there's a fair chance that we're able to do so.
06:09So, again, that's positive for us.
06:14With the full result and obviously some of the results that Vinny alluded to a moment ago,
06:18is this exactly the sort of boost and the bit of a reset that everyone needs just to forget what's gone before
06:23and just look ahead at the challenge that you've got in these final matches to get yourselves all of the line?
06:28I would prefer not to forget what has happened before because we're 11 points clear.
06:33In one of the most difficult competitions there has been in the past ten years, if you look,
06:39at how many English teams are still in Europe, how well they are doing in Europe.
06:43Arsenal beating Real Madrid 3-0 and it could have been 5 or 6.
06:47So that probably tells you how strong this competition is.
06:50And so please, please, please let our fans and our players not forget how fantastic we've done till now.
06:57We're out of the Champions League because we lost against Paris Saint-Germain
07:01after one of the best games of football I've seen, I've been a part of in my life.
07:06So I would like us to remember what we did, not the last game because that's the one we've lost,
07:14but in general we can look back at eight or nine months of very good football.
07:19We're in a season, you always are a bit on a high and a bit on a low,
07:23but on average I think individual performance has been really well and team performance also.
07:28What more can Mo Salah bring to Liverpool? His record since the day he signed has been incredible,
07:37his numbers are fantastic. This season though he's developed a new facet to his game in terms of the amount of assists.
07:46And you're looking at a player that always appears to want to learn more.
07:52And signing this new deal, can it put an extra spring in his step?
07:56What more can he do for you?
07:58We're always trying to achieve a bit more as a team and as individuals.
08:04But if you are playing at Liverpool probably you're also close to coming to the maximum of your ability.
08:12So there's not a lot of room for improvement for Mo or for all the other players anymore.
08:18But you're just trying to reach perfection.
08:20And I saw DeChambeau saying this.
08:25That's the Masters Golf where we just spoke about before the press conference started.
08:30I saw a phrase of him and it was from Lombardi I think who said,
08:34we are trying to reach perfection which we will never reach,
08:39but we reach excellence on the way.
08:41And I think that's what we are trying here as well.
08:44So we're trying to bring the best and the maximum out of the players to find this one or two percent extra.
08:50But it's clear that Mo is coming close to the end.
08:56Not to the end of his career, but to the end of his ability.
08:59I think we've brought almost the maximum out of his qualities this season.
09:04And then it's about consistency, which is one of the most difficult things in football.
09:09And that's why he's been seen as such a star player.
09:13Because to play once or twice the way Mo does, I'm not saying everyone can,
09:18but most players can.
09:19But to do this on such a consistency level, that's what makes it so hard.
09:24And then I come back to the mentality part again.
09:26Defeats have been a rarity in the Premier League this season.
09:29Your first away defeat last week at Fulham.
09:32I know you were disappointed, particularly in the first half,
09:35with the mistakes that were made defensively.
09:38And you also hinted at that when you analysed the Newcastle game.
09:43Do you learn sometimes more from what needs to be done when the player standards dip like that,
09:48in terms of a reference point for what you need to do between now and the end of the season?
09:53I think immediately after the game it felt to me that we only made three mistakes,
10:02maybe four because after five minutes Ibu lost the ball in his 18-yard box as well,
10:06and that cost us three goals.
10:08But in the moment I also already felt that it wasn't a bad performance in the first half,
10:14which sounds weird if you make three mistakes,
10:16but if you just keep the three mistakes out and you look at what we did,
10:19it wasn't our best performance, but it wasn't bad as well.
10:22But as it is in football, if we would have been 1-0 up in that game,
10:25probably everybody would say, oh, Liverpool control the game, they do really well,
10:28and you can see three goals with three mistakes,
10:30and everybody says it's been the worst first half of the season that we've ever seen at this football club.
10:36That is where football is all about.
10:38It's all about you are judged on the goals, you score and you concede.
10:43So second half I liked a lot, but unfortunately we could only score one goal,
10:49but the mentality that we've shown by being 3-1 down and coming back the way we did,
10:55creating more than enough chances to get a result also shows me how much character we had.
11:01But I liked the second half also more than the first half because we were much more dynamic,
11:05so players run much more, players took much more risk in the right places, the risks,
11:13and that led to a much better second half than the first half.
11:17And that's again where we try to learn from and do better on Sunday.
11:21And Arne, despite the effort and the money that you've spoken about,
11:26how much does this contract with Mo help your planning for the summer,
11:31because you can use resources to build rather than replace?
11:35Yeah, and I think if I would put myself in the shoes of a player that we might want to sign,
11:43it's always nice to tell them that Mo – we don't have to tell them anymore,
11:49because it's out in the open now – that Mo has extended his contract.
11:53So that helps, but what helps the most is that we kept a quality player
11:58that scored seven or eight years in a row so many goals for us.
12:01And in the end, I just said, football is a game where we are mostly judged
12:06on the goals we score and we don't concede.
12:09So it's helpful to have a player that can score goals, that's for sure.
12:14And it's not a question about contracts, but I think it might be equally boring.
12:18Semi-automated offside comes in this weekend.
12:21What do you make of that and what do you make of it coming in at this stage of the season?
12:26For me, it's something positive, because I think it even helps the officials
12:31to make a better decision.
12:33And it's also clearer to the fans, because if I watch a game of football,
12:38it doesn't have to be mine or somewhere else around the world
12:40and I see a red line and a blue line, I'm always like,
12:43that's close to each other.
12:44But when I see this 3D, is that the way you say it?
12:48I'm like, oh, indeed, you're right, it's offside.
12:53So I think it's a positive thing.
12:57And I like the VR for clear and obvious, not clear, for obvious things,
13:02not for subjective things.
13:03So I'm a big fan of using the VR only for your objective things.
13:07So offside, yes or no?
13:09A ball over the line, yes or no?
13:11Is it inside or outside the box?
13:12I would prefer the subjective things to go out.
13:16But that's not going to happen.
13:19How important is the message to send both inside and outside the club
13:29that he has signed for the two years?
13:32Like I just said, I think it's important because I'm 100% sure that our fans love to see him extending.
13:42So it gives a positive five toward the club.
13:44Maybe a positive five we might even not need.
13:46But it's always good to have positive vibes instead of negative vibes.
13:50On the other hand, Mo performed so well, the club performed so well with you guys only talking about their contracts.
13:57But I think it's only positive because if you want to sign new players or players that want to extend here, yes or no,
14:07it's always positive to see that one of our star players over the last seven or eight years have made the choice to extend this contract.
14:15And it also shows maybe how ambitious this club is.
14:24So not only Mo but also the owners and the ones that came in last season,
14:29that we are really ambitious to keep performing the way this club has performed for so many years now.
14:38You spoke about him reaching the end of his talent.
14:43Has his role changed for you this season?
14:48And do you think he's having to adapt as he gets older or you...?
14:53Because there may be some games where he's maybe not been involved as much as maybe had been in the past
14:59but he's still producing a number.
15:00Have you changed his role or do you see his role changes?
15:03Yeah, that I don't know.
15:05I don't know if he was six, seven or eight years ago or maybe three or four years ago
15:10if he was every second of the game involved.
15:13I would be surprised if I look at all the wingers all around the world.
15:16They are not 90 minutes outplaying their opponent every single time.
15:23I think if you are a winger you have to be creative and that's the most difficult part in football,
15:27especially against these low blocks, many good wingers face.
15:32So then it's normal that once in a while you lose the ball or one of your actions fail.
15:37But in general Mo has a lot of impact on our game with assists and goals.
15:43But not only that, I think he's also a big threat.
15:46But he's not the only one.
15:47If I look at the Champions League this week, I think wingers are getting more and more and more important
15:56in this modern game of football because teams are going to lower, lower, lower blocks than ever before.
16:02And then if you like, if you look at Rafinha, Lamin Jamal, Quareskelia, Due, now Asaka, Martinelli,
16:12they were all able during the week to open up the last line or to open up to create chances.
16:20And that's what Mo does for us and what Cody and Lucio are doing for us as well.
16:25Hi Arne, you mentioned Ibu Kalate before and we've spoken previously this season about his abilities on the ball
16:31and the improvements he's made in that area.
16:33Against Fulham he was substituted for an attacker.
16:36That's the fourth time that this has happened with C.
16:39What does he still have to do to become an asset in those times when you are chasing the goal while maybe a sacrifice?
16:46Now for me, if I take him out for another centre-back, that probably tells you that I wasn't as happy about his game.
16:54Or if I take Virgil out and I bring another centre-back in, you could assume that he's either injured or he's not fit
17:00or I'm not so happy with the way he's playing.
17:02If I bring an attacker in or a midfielder in, that probably tells you that we want to take a bit more risks.
17:07And that is what has happened.
17:09So I think Ibu improved during this season on the ball.
17:12It's not that he was really worse.
17:14So he was a French international that played the World Cup final.
17:17So he was already a good player.
17:19I don't think maybe he on his own improved.
17:21He knows better what we as a team want.
17:24How do we want to do build-up, where his teammates should be and which choices he has to make in that regard.
17:30But to take him off and I think I've brought... I don't know anymore who I bring.
17:36I think it was Kiesa.
17:38No, I brought Kiesa in for Robertson.
17:41But Darwin, I brought Darwin in and another...
17:45It doesn't matter.
17:46But it was for sure a player that probably can score a goal a bit more easy than Ibu can.
17:52So taking him off at Fulham has nothing to do with where he is in his stage of how well he does with the ball.
17:59That is simply, yeah, we are 3-2 down.
18:02Let's bring as much goals on the pitch as we can.
18:04Let's take as much risk as we can to hopefully get a goal.
18:08And I think we created quite a lot afterwards.
18:12Which is not to say which we have.
18:14I don't know if he was still on the pitch.
18:16But it did work out in terms of chance creation, not in terms of scoring.
18:21Michael?
18:22Hi Aron.
18:23You've always been very relaxed about the contract situation this season.
18:26Were you always calm if you would find a solution for a long time to mow
18:30and if you wouldn't stay in the same state as well?
18:35I think in general people see me as quite relaxed.
18:38Except for maybe seven or eight minutes during this season.
18:42In a certain away game, Finney.
18:44And that has all to do with the trust I have in the quality of my players.
18:49And this is all to do with the trust I have in the quality of leadership.
18:53FSG, Michael Edwards and Richard Jude.
18:56So that's why I'm indeed calm about the whole situation.
19:03Because they will do what is best for the club.
19:09And if that is extending, that is extending.
19:11And if not, then they will find good solutions again.
19:15Because that's what they've showed for so many years now.
19:17So there's a reason for me to be calm about everything.
19:21But of course, I've also spoken to Mo and I follow the whole process.
19:28And that gave me a lot of confidence as well about his situation.
19:31That last thing would be useful.
19:49Because it's not sorted before the first of July, I think then.
19:54No, but you know my answer.
19:56We will see what's going to happen in the upcoming weeks.
20:02And there's not a long time to go anymore.
20:04So you will get your answers between now and two months, I think.
20:07And first of all, I think it should go about us being happy that Mo has extended.
20:13And it should not be the talks about other players.
20:17Just in terms of Sunday, is Alisson fully recovered?
20:21Yes, he is.
20:22And one of the positives last week was Conor Bragley.
20:26His cameo with a full week's training.
20:28Is that putting in contention to maybe start Sunday?
20:31Yes, he does.
20:33How much of a boost does that have been back around?
20:38Conor Bragley has been out for a long time.
20:40Of course, it's a boost.
20:41It's always a boost when quality players come back.
20:43Especially quality players in that position.
20:45Because I think Curtis Jones is a quality player, but it's not his favourite position.
20:49So to have a player in his favourite position is always, not always,
20:54but it might be better for the team.
20:56And Conor has done so well for us this season.
20:59Just like Trent.
21:00But when Trent then isn't there, you always look to hope behind you
21:04and see that Conor is available.
21:05But then if he isn't, then we have to solve that problem.
21:07And we're not the only team in this league that has had these problems.
21:12So we've tried to bring the best out of it.
21:15That worked really well against Everton.
21:17I think Curtis played well also against Fulham.
21:21Of course, he was involved in the goal.
21:23But yeah, you can ask yourself the question if he could do so much about that.
21:27But he did it quite well, too very well in my opinion for two times.
21:34But now to have Conor back, I think we all would make the same decision.
21:38And that's playing Conor in that position.
21:41Quick breakups next door...