Head coach says poor performances are not a confidence thing and that the players still understand his ideas
Arne Slot said Liverpool players must “reward ourselves” in the positive moments after facing deep scrutiny due to their recent poor performances.
Liverpool head into Sunday’s Premier League match against West Ham on the back of a grim run of nine defeats in their last 12 matches.
Slot said it was important for them to remind each other of the positive things they do on the pitch because other people won’t forget the negative bits.
“It would also be nice if we would reward ourselves in the moments we play well because people are very focused, and correctly, about the parts we don’t play well,” Slot said.
“There are definitely large parts of the games that we do play well and do create a lot of chances. We tend to forget to reward ourselves in those moments. Every small mistake, or small error, immediately leads to us conceding a goal.”
Liverpool have shipped 10 goals in their last three matches, including four in Wednesday’s Champions League defeat to PSV Eindhoven. They have only scored once in that time.
Slot refused to accept that their results were a confidence thing.
“I don’t see it [confidence] being low when we start the game,” said Slot. “I didn’t even see it being low after we conceded [against PSV].
“Even when we conceded the 2-1 and again had a disappointment we were able to generate enough chances, but after they scored the 3-1 I could see it hurt the players and that wasn’t the period where our fighting spirit was the best in the game, to say it mildly.”
The drastic turnaround in form is remarkable considering that Slot was praised for his tactical genius after improving Liverpool on the pitch last season. The manager insisted the team are having no problems understanding his ideas.
The Dutchman said: “After the 3-1 it is very difficult to get a message across when I’m on the sideline, but before and during half-time I think the message comes across to them.
“If I see how we create our chances it is a lot of the things we train on and what is in the meeting, but unfortunately it doesn’t lead to goals and that is difficult for them, for me, for everyone.
“But the message that comes across is very clear from me from the way we generate our chances.”
