A long-time critic of Jurgen Klopp has spoken very highly of the German’s successor Arne Slot, but he’s also issued a warning for Liverpool ahead of a hectic run of fixtures over the next month.
Raymond Verheijen was an outspoken detractor of the 57-year-old’s high-energy tactical style, with the former Reds boss occasionally biting back in public during an ongoing feud during the earlier years of the latter’s Anfield reign (Liverpool Echo).
Verheijen full of praise for Slot
The one-time Netherland and Wales assistant coach – and author of Complete Handbook of Conditioning for Soccer – praised Slot in an interview with Flashscore, saying: “Slot has already developed himself as one of the best Dutch coaches. He has a great tactical understanding of the game.
“When he talks about the game, he is always clear because he keeps things simple and to the point. Also, he has a very football-specific approach which is much appreciated by players.”
However, Verheijen has warned Liverpool that a change in backroom staff can often precipitate an increase in the regularity and severity of injuries at a club due to the difference in approach from a new fitness coach.
The 52-year-old said: “When there is a change in coaching staff, there is a spike in injuries and this spike is significantly bigger if the change in coaching staff also means a change of fitness coach.
“A lot of fitness coaches aren’t football coaches, so they are thinking about fitness in a non-football or isolated way. Fitness coaches all have a different way of training, meaning the players’ bodies have to adapt to a totally new way of training and that is the main reason for those injuries.”
Backroom changes haven’t hindered Liverpool on injury front
We very much agree with Verheijen’s comments about Slot, whose meticulous yet uncomplicated approach has reaped dividends for Liverpool so far with nine wins out of 10 to begin his time in charge.
However, the change in management (and duly the backroom team) at Anfield hasn’t brought about the ‘spike in injuries’ that the 52-year-old mentioned. While Alisson Becker, Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones and Federico Chiesa have all been sidelined at various intervals, squad availability hasn’t been a major problem for the Reds so far this season.
A big part of that is likely down to the work of newly-installed physical performance coach Ruben Peeters, who arrived with a glowing reputation for effectively managing players’ fitness from his time working with Slot at Feyenoord (The Athletic).
An intense fixture schedule against a string of top-quality opposition over the next month could test Liverpool’s squad to the extreme, but if we come through that period without any major injury concerns arising, it’d bode well for the rest of the campaign.
Hopefully the Reds’ current head coach won’t give Verheijen any excuse to publicly question his methods in the same way that he frequently did with the legendary Klopp.