Arne Slot has played down his criticism of Mohamed Salah for his blunt comments about Liverpool’s style of play but revealed the Egyptian had no problems last season when the club won the league title.
Salah will play his final game for the Merseysider against Brentford on Sunday but will do so after angering many fans and former players after appearing to belittle Slot by questioning his approach following last Friday’s 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa.
Writing in X, Salah said: “Our defeat again this season was very painful and not what our fans deserved. I want to see Liverpool go back to being an attacking team with steel that their opponents fear and go back to being a team that wins trophies. That’s the football I know how to play and that’s the identity that needs to be restored and well maintained so that everyone can adapt.”
The phrase “heavy-metal football” was echoed by Slot’s predecessor Jurgen Klopp with the Dutchman opting for a more relaxed approach.
Slot’s methods have worked over the past 12 months with Liverpool winning the Premier League title in his first year in charge but they have struggled to replicate that level of performance this season and still need a point against Brentford on the final day to secure a Champions League place.
Asked about Salah’s comments this morning, Slot said: “I don’t think what I hear is that important.
“The important thing is that we get into the Champions League on Sunday, and I’m preparing Mo and the whole team to be ready for the game in the best possible way. That’s the important thing.
“I was very disappointed after our defeat against Aston Villa, because a win would have given us a chance to enter the Champions League – which we didn’t do. Now there is one more important game for us as a team.”
He added: “I think Mo was very happy with the style we played last season because that led to us winning the league. As I said, football has changed, football has changed. But we both want the best for Liverpool and that is to compete for titles.”
Mo and I have the same interest – Liverpool Slot Manager
Slot refused to confirm whether Salah would start for the Bees and whether his comments had an impact on the team, adding: “I don’t know if it has had an impact on the team. What I have seen is that the team has trained well this week, and we hope to continue very well in the next two days to really prepare ourselves.
“I think Mo and I have the same interests – we want the best for this club. We want the club to be as successful as possible. We’ve both been part of giving the fans their first league title in five years – but we also know this season.
“What we want, what he wants and what I want is for the club to be successful like last season. That’s where I’m most focused because Sunday’s game can give us a solid foundation when we prepare for next season. That’s where we should focus.”
Liverpool knows what to do – Slot
Champions League football was the least Liverpool fans could have expected at the start of the season and rumors continue to swirl about Slot’s future at Anfield. The aim at the same time is to get the point they need to stay among the European elite.
He said: “We know what we have to do, we need to win or draw, otherwise we still have an acceptable goal difference.
“I think we like to give our fans a good way to end the season because we have had a lot of disappointments this season.
“I said, I mean the team and that includes the fans, the staff and the players. We want to finish with a win, knowing that Brentford are playing for something very important.”
