Liverpool Boss Arne Slot Plays Down Premier League Title Pressure

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has defended Darwin Nunez's form, insisting the striker is not struggling for confidence, and played down Premier League title pressure ahead of their match against Brentford.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has insisted that he is not paying attention to their Premier League title rivals, choosing instead to focus on their upcoming opponents. With the pressure mounting on the Merseyside club, Slot was asked about Arsenal's recent form, which has seen them move within four points of Liverpool's leadership. However, Slot remained unfazed, saying: “I didn't even know Arsenal are playing later than us, I look at the opponent for us.”

Slot's attention is currently focused on Brentford, who Liverpool will face on Saturday. He praised Brentford's performance against Manchester City, highlighting their ability to create chances. “They created chances against Man City and their manager has done a great job, they have worked together for a long time,” Slot said. He also expressed his admiration for the competitive nature of the Premier League, noting that every week presents a tough challenge. “If this is going to be the resistance we have every week then this is a harder league than Holland, is what I thought after my first home game,” Slot added. With his focus solely on Brentford, Slot emphasized that he has “no other focus like when Arsenal or Chelsea plays or whoever.”

Arne Slot has downplayed the significance of the Premier League table, insisting that Liverpool's focus is on optimizing their performance. Slot emphasized that the players and staff are aware of the season's length and the high standards required to achieve success. “I don't think we are as much as the media are thinking about the table, we are trying to get the best out of players, the staff and the players. These players know how long this season is and how good they have to be to win something, which is not something that happens every week,” he said. Slot's approach is centered on maintaining a strong work ethic, with a focus on daily improvement. ”So we focus on a good session today and a good game tomorrow and the only way to get a result is to work on best possible basis every day.”

Slot also addressed captain Virgil van Dijk's recent comment about Liverpool being in “crisis.” The manager acknowledged that the Premier League is highly competitive, citing the surprise result of Southampton's match against Manchester United. “This season shows the strength of the league, even yesterday was quite a surprise to see Southampton go toe to toe with Manchester United for so long,” Slot said. He noted that the second half of the season is often more challenging, as teams have more time to gel and make adjustments. “It's harder to win in second half of the season than first, teams are longer together, others bring players in and teams are fighting for Europe, titles, to stay in the league.” Slot praised Brentford as a strong example of a team that has consistently performed well. “Brentford is an example of a team who were already strong in first half. A very good team for a few years now. They have shown that.”

Arne Slot has acknowledged that the workload of his players is a challenging reality of the Premier League. He noted that the demanding schedule has been a constant presence since the start of the season. “If I remember, this has been the situation since we started against Brentford, that was maybe the only week we didn't have a double programme, maybe you say there are international breaks, which is true but no time off for players,” Slot said. He also pointed out that even during breaks, players may still have to participate in international matches, citing the example of the Netherlands' upcoming game against Spain. “A break in March but I know a bit better that the Dutch play Spain, so Cody, Ryan, Virgil have a tough game and you say they have a break.”

Slot defended the form of his strikers, particularly Darwin Nunez, who has been subject to scrutiny. Slot insisted that he is happy with Nunez's performance and disagreed with the perception that the striker is struggling for confidence. “It's your perception, not mine that he is struggling for confidence. He was involved in goals against Accrington and Fulham and he scored against Southampton,” Slot said. He emphasized that Nunez's experience is typical of a striker's life, where scoring is not always consistent. “So for me it's the life of a striker, sometimes you score, sometimes you don't and he hasn't started every week.” Slot expressed confidence in Nunez's ability to score goals, pointing out that the team has been consistently scoring except for one game against Spurs in the Cup. “We score every game except for Spurs in the Cup, so that tells me we have goals in our team. Darwin will score like he has done already. I don't see him struggling that much as you see it.”