‘No-one expected this’ – how Slot took Liverpool to brink of title

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Sander Westerveld says, “Most people would have said no if you had asked the fans back in August if their team had won the Premier League.”

Jurgen Klopp was always going to be the hardest of acts to follow as manager.

When the charismatic German announced in January 2024 that he would leave at the end of that season, Liverpool fans were understandably concerned about the future.

Who would undertake the seemingly impossible task of replacing Klopp? As his successor settled into the position, would Liverpool tread water or even go backward for a season or two?

“Klopp was a sort of god who changed the club – not just on the pitch but the whole atmosphere”, says Westerveld.

Before declaring he would stay in Germany, former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso had been heavily linked with an Anfield return, which opened the door for Arne Slot’s appointment.

“At that moment I didn’t even think about Arne”, adds fellow Dutchman Westerveld, who has remained friends with Slot since their playing days together at Sparta Rotterdam in 2007-08.

“Noone in England was very knowledgeable about him.” Everybody who knows football said it was going to be a huge task and that this was an unknown coach who comes from the Netherlands”.

However, Klopp and Slot’s transition was seamless, with Liverpool only needing one more point to win the championship for a 20th consecutive year.

With 24 wins in 33 games and just two defeats, Slot’s Liverpool have made top spot their own after looking down on the rest of the Premier League since 2 November.

And now, with only four games left, they will be the reigning English champions for the second time since 1989-90 if they do not lose to Tottenham on Sunday.

Slot, who ruled himself out of the running to become the next Spurs boss while at Feyenoord in May 2023, would join an elite band of bosses in the Premier League era to have delivered the title in their first season in charge.

Before Manuel Pellegrini’s (2013-14) successful completion at Manchester City, Jose Mourinho managed it at Chelsea while Carlo Ancelotti managed it at Chelsea. The last boss to do so before Slot was Antonio Conte – also at Chelsea – in 2016-17.

The chief Liverpool correspondent for the Liverpool Echo, Ian Doyle, states, “Nobody expected this.” “In terms of an achievement for a manager in his first season at Liverpool, it has to be right up there”.

The Anfield Wrap, the presenter and CEO of Liverpool fans’ podcast and website, adds: “I don’t think anyone wanted the new manager to try to be a Jurgen Klopp tribute act.”

In many ways, Slot’s main job has been to build on and improve the outstanding squad left behind by his predecessor, who averaged 80.33 points in his last three seasons at Anfield.

After Slot tightened the defense and gave the midfield more control, Liverpool would break the 90-point plateau with four more victories.

” They’ve amassed these points by winning when it’s hard, winning when it’s ugly, winning when the opposition have put up a fight, “adds Atkinson.

No one of Liverpool’s rivals have been able to accomplish that.

While Federico Chiesa has been the only addition to Slot’s squad for this season, the Dutch coach has improved players, including Ryan Gravenberch, who has grasped his opportunity at the base of Liverpool’s midfield after the club missed out on signing Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad.

Mohamed Salah’s stats under Slot have been seriously impressive, with 27 Premier League goals and 18 assists in 33 appearances, up from 18 goals and 10 assists in 32 appearances in Klopp’s final season.

Gravenberch’s Netherlands team-mate Cody Gakpo has also provided 16 goals in all competitions in 2024-25, matching his tally from last season.

“In his first meeting with the players, Arne had all the information from the season they won in 2019-20 and all the information from Klopp’s final season,” says Westerveld.

” Last season, compared to the title season, there were less sprints, the team was less effective. He was telling the players exactly what they needed to do and what they needed to know by showing them all the data rather than saying, “Come on, work hard.”

There have been tweaks off the field too, with Slot implementing a new routine to how his players build up to games.

The day would start later under Klopp, but this year’s players had breakfast at 9.15 am at the Kirkby training facility, which is about six and a half miles from Anfield.

Slot and his backroom team have introduced a process known as ‘ body wake-up ‘ which involves breathing exercises before both training and matches.

The Liverpool squad would stay together in a hotel before home games, according to Klopp. That is no longer the case, with players allowed to remain at their own homes.

With fitness issues having hampered several campaigns in recent years, training sessions have been longer than before but less intense to prevent injuries.

In addition, Slot has made key hires behind the scenes.

Before the German waved his final match in charge, Klopp urged supporters to “Sing with him,” “Arne Slot, na na na na na na na na na na na na na,” to the tune of Opus’ Live Is Life, a chant that has grown more and more popular at the stadium as the season has progressed.

” Before his first home game in front of 60, 000 I asked Arne if he was nervous, “says Westerveld, who won the FA Cup, League Cup and Uefa Cup at Liverpool in 2000-01 under Gerard Houllier.

He responded, “Oh well, you know, I was manager of Feyenoord and we had a stadium of 50, 000, so I’m used to that.”

“I said, ‘ No, Arnie. No, this is not Anfield; it is a unique situation. He was downplaying everything.

Liverpool is ideal for him, I thought about it afterward. He’s just a normal guy, down to earth, feet on the floor, very calm. He maintains the same standards and doesn’t alter.

“He didn’t get carried away when Liverpool won 11 of the first 12 games, and he didn’t panic when they lost the League Cup final five days after going out of the Champions League”.

Arne’s Slot Machine, a nod to his popularity with both young and old fans, is a regular feature on The Kop this season.

He has befriended Isaac Kearney, a Liverpool-obsessed seven-year-old, who was born with a rare condition known as Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, meaning he develops at a slower rate than other children his age.

Isaac’s mother, Melissa and Alan, his older sister Florence, and their parents were invited to the training facility to meet the players when the club learned of his story.

They were told they might not see Slot as he was busy planning for a game.

Melissa recalls that Isaac was yelling “Arne” through the window as he passed the manager’s office along with Mo [Salah] and Virgil [van Dijk] and that Isaac was also yelling “Asiac.”

“Arne was in a meeting but came out to chat with Isaac. He was so upbeat and sincere. We sat down for lunch and Arne came over and was fist-bumping Isaac.

Arne questioned whether he was having a good day, and Isaac responded that he was still awaiting a visit from [Alexander-Arnold]. Arne said, ‘ I’m going to take you to meet him right now’. “

In his pre-game press conference, Slot also name-checked Isaac before Liverpool’s home game against Southampton in March.

Slot comes across as likeable, approachable and intelligent in interviews, although there were occasions in his early days when he struggled to grasp the local dialect.

A local reporter inquired before Liverpool’s Champions League clash with Bologna in October as to whether the preparations for a major European game were any different from domestic matches.

” That was a bit of Scouse, “said Slot, struggling to understand the local accent before turning to Tony Barrett, director of first team communications, for help.

He “is relaxed into the job,” Doyle exclaims. Anyone who has seen his press conferences, he doesn’t mind a laugh and a joke. His father has previously mentioned that he reads the newspapers.

Arend Slot hit the headlines in January when Arne revealed his dad was not impressed with the way the Reds performed in the 2-1 Champions League win over Lille.

When I called him after the game, he said, “Ah, it wasn’t as exciting as other Liverpool games,” Arne said at the time.

Doyle adds:” I haven’t seen him snap in press conferences but if he doesn’t believe a question is fair he’ll make a point of addressing that fact.

“This season, we’ve basically got what we deserved,” he says, “whether it’s after winning against Real Madrid in the Champions League or being defeated by Newcastle in the League Cup final.”

Westerveld was at Goodison Park in February when Slot was shown a red card after a dramatic Merseyside derby ended 2-2, with Everton equalising in the 98th minute.

He continued, “He looked really angry when he walked off the pitch, and then he saw me and smiled right away.”

“It’s like I said before… he doesn’t get too down. He retains the same characteristics as he did when he first took over as a coach at Cambuur.

Away from football in the Netherlands, Slot used to relax by playing golf with Westerveld, but since moving to Liverpool he keeps fit playing racquet sport padel with his backroom staff at the training ground.

When asked what he does after training, Slot, whose family has remained in the Netherlands, said, “Go home, eat, take the computer out, watch the training session back, prepare for the next meeting.”

“He’s clearly a brilliant coach… and a serious minded person”, adds Atkinson.

“His reaction to Paris St-Germain’s exit from the Champions League wasn’t to bemoan the referee or put injuries on his mind.

Liverpool haven’t won back-to-back league titles since they were champions in the early 1980s.

Assuming they do go on to complete the job, will they build on this season’s incredible success?

In 2024 and beyond, Slot is anticipated to be active in the transfer market to help Liverpool stay in a strong position next season despite the fact that there is no need for a reconstruction.

Although Salah has signed a new two-year contract and captain Virgil van Dijk has also committed his future, England international Alexander-Arnold is expected to move to Real Madrid.

Alexander Isak, a left-back from Newcastle, and Milos Kerkez, a left-back from Bournemouth, are reported Liverpool targets.

” I refuse to believe Slot will allow standards to slip next season, “adds Atkinson”. I believe they’ll get 80 points once more, and if you do, you stand a chance of being in the title debate.

Westerveld will be at Anfield on 25 May, when Liverpool host Crystal Palace on the final day of the season, in the hope of seeing his friend and former team-mate show off the Premier League trophy.

“To join the Premier League from the Netherlands coaching… I didn’t expect it to be so easy for him to adapt, “he admits.