Arne Slot has made it clear that he will not accept the kind of performance that was on show in the first half against Ipswich Town moving forward.
The Dutchman’s post-match press conference comments were relayed on X (formerly Twitter) by Lewis Steele.
It follows the 45-year-old’s ruthless decision to hook Jarell Quansah at half-time for Ibrahima Konate as the Reds looked to improve their aerial dominance.
Arne Slot: "I inherited a very very good team with great individuals. But these players have to understand that it is not enough what they brought in the first half. If they bring their maximum capacity, then we can be really, really good. We showed that in the second half. The…
— Lewis Steele (@LewisSteele_) August 17, 2024
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The Merseysiders showed a clear improvement in the second half, which was partly epitomised by the Frenchman’s duel dominance (4/5 won) against the Blues.
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An important first warning for Arne Slot’s men
It wasn’t the first – and it certainly won’t be the last time – we were left disappointed by a limp first-half performance from Liverpool.
That said, we’re more than impressed with some of the early decision-making on show from our new head coach to ensure we left with the lion’s share of the rewards at Suffolk.
Make no mistake. Jarell Quansah very much still has a bright future at Anfield and he was far from disappointing against Kieran McKenna’s side on Saturday afternoon.
Nonetheless, bringing on Ibrahima Konate to improve our ability to handle aerial threats – and thus gain greater control of the game – proved a masterstroke from Slot.
The bar has been set. Both for the kind of performance that will please our new head coach and for the kind of showing that must rarely rear its head.
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wh is TA still playing when he was average in performance.
Our players were really spoiled by Klopp who rarely yanked poor performing players off or directly called them out. It certainly looked that Quansah was devastated after 10 months of non-stop praise. Hopefully Slot will build him back up so that he does not become apprehensive and scared to make a mistake.
I’m sure he will educate his team to expect this kind of moves if he sees something that needs to be corrected mid game. It certainly shows a will to win. Klopp built incredible self confidence in his approach which helped us win, and I hope Slot can strike a balance and toughen up the team mentally so players will get used to his approach.
The centre half is useless. He delays the play and in most cases his pass will be backwards.In many cases he gives instructions to other players without reasons.