Arne Slot had a wry message for reporters after Liverpool’s 5-1 win over West Ham in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
The Dutchman has had a very promising start to life as the Reds’ head coach, winning six of his first seven games in all competitions (including at Old Trafford and San Siro), with 18 goals scored and just three conceded.
In his post-match press conference after last night’s clash, the 46-year-old referred back to a summer transfer window where there was plenty of discourse about LFC not doing enough business, having only made one addition to their first-team squad for this season (Federico Chiesa in the final week of August).
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Like a man who was waiting for the right moment to make his point, Slot said (via Sky Sports): “For two months you only asked me about new players and I constantly told you guys how many quality players we already had. That is what we showed in the last weeks and today again, that we have many quality players.
“What pleases me most is that even if a lot of new players come in, they don’t come in and try to have a good individual performances. They try to work really hard for the team because there was a lot of desire not to concede, and as a result of that, we had some good individual performances as well.”
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Slot was definitely in a better starting position than most of his predecessors in terms of the strength of the squad that he inherited at the start of his Liverpool reign, with Jurgen Klopp bequeathing him a formidable group of players.
There was much disquiet among supporters during a glacial summer transfer window in terms of incomings, with concerns that not enough quality had been added to bridge the gap to champions Manchester City, nor was there enough depth to cope with the kind of injury crises which dogged us last season.
There remains a feeling that the Reds could’ve done with another couple of additions, most notably at centre-back and defensive midfield, although the retention of Joe Gomez and renaissance of Ryan Gravenberch has thus far helped to mitigate concerns over those respective positions.
Last night’s match showcased the strength in depth that Slot can enjoy when he has a near fully-fit squad at his disposal, particularly in attack, where our six senior forwards have eight goals between them over the past two games.
It’s been smooth sailing so far for the Dutchman in terms of results and a relatively low number of injuries. Trickier periods are inevitable further down the line, although the manner in which Liverpool have bounced back from the defeat to Nottingham Forest earlier this month is a strong indicator of this team’s mental fortitude.
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