Rugby drills and ‘killing them with passes’ – How Slot forged Liverpool’s title

Liverpool are the champions of England for the 20th time at the end of a remarkable first season under manager Arne Slot, who got straight down to work after replacing Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool players were sat in their hotel rooms in Philadelphia while they were fielding some questions from their own team-mates. They were in the form of Whatsapp messages and they were about the new manager and his coaching staff.

What are they like, what are the sessions like? Nothing out of the ordinary but a sign that those who were still on holiday after summer tournaments were champing at the bit to get involved. They had all spoken to Arne Slot. That’s because he called all of the first team to introduce himself and speak about his thoughts on them and the team.

Captain Virgil van Dijk had said not long after Jurgen Klopp had announced his departure and the questions on his contract had started, that he wanted to see the direction the club was going in.

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But once Slot was picked by Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards to take over, there was never a feeling among the Liverpool squad that the manager had something to prove to them. Sometimes that happens when the players have won it all and the head coach is walking into a settled dressing room.

In fact, it was the opposite. Senior players couldn’t wait to get going to show the new boss what they could do. They wanted to impress him. Like eager schoolchildren wanting their gold stars from the teacher.

Those sessions in Philadelphia were different from what had gone before. The use of rugby pads for ball drills eye-catching. There were shouts of “kill them with passes”. A sign of how Slot was going to focus more on possession football.

Many times this season it has been described more as orchestral than the ‘heavy metal’ football of Klopp. Those closer to the squad have seen the style of play change much more subtle with a hybrid mix rather than an overhaul.

Slot kept media duties to the absolute minimum while on tour. Only items he was contractually obligated to do were fulfilled. The message from him was his focus was on the football and he had little to speak about given he had done nothing yet as Liverpool boss. He has now.

Hughes and Edwards were working on transfer targets. Martin Zubimendi would emerge as their main one but he opted to stay at Real Sociedad. Those outside of the club wondered which No 6 the club would turn their attention to but they never did. The only signing was winger Federico Chiesa.

Slot already had a plan. When he had made his call to Gravenberch as part of his introduction, he mentioned the No 6 position to the Dutch midfielder. The No 8 would be his primary role but he wanted him to be an option in a deeper position. In the end, it is the No 6 spot which Gravenberch has excelled in. It was a masterstroke from Liverpool’s coaching team.

Slot set the target out for the season early. There were no discussions about transition and building up to challenging for trophies. The message was to go and win the Premier League, and go for glory in the Champions League. Slot had looked back over the previous season and seen a team which ran out of gas after being dogged by injury problems.

He noted that was while juggling a Europa League campaign, a competition which allowed for rotation which would not be the case in the European Cup. So injury prevention and recovery were high on the agenda. He brought Ruben Peeters in with him from Feyenoord and the Irish company STATSports deployed to monitor every little detail with a no-risk policy when fatigue hits.

Yet one thing Slot learned over the course of the campaign was that he didn’t have full trust in some squad players which has led to an over-reliance on key men. That may have contributed to a season when they failed outside of the Premier League and could be rectified in the transfer market this summer.

He has not been shy in calling out players who don’t meet standards set. Darwin Nunez got the brunt of such honesty on more than one occasion this season.

Slot has been obsessed with video analysis. You can regularly see him on the touchline turning to his staff sat on the bench and shouting over to get certain phases of play clipped up to show at the interval. While he goes through one-on-one and team video sessions with the players. It has all helped contribute to a remarkable debut season in the Premier League.

He showed his ruthlessness in his first competitive game when he hauled off Jarell Quansah at half-time against Ipswich because he was struggling. That sent a message that if you don’t meet standards then there will be no time wasted to change.

Contract talks for Van Dijk, Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold were always going to dominate the agenda and it was something Slot was made aware of when he took the job. After meeting all three players, he had no concerns the trio would be distracted.

A win at Old Trafford early in the campaign further added to the belief amongst the squad that Slot was a worthy successor to Klopp. When they lost to Nottingham Forest early in the campaign, it was a learning curve for Slot that no team could be underestimated in the Premier League.

From that moment they rarely looked back. All outside noise was ignored, contract discussions went on but were not a problem. They went on a 26-game unbeaten run until defeat by Fulham this month and Arsenal simply couldn’t keep pace with them.

Kill them with passes? Liverpool have slaughtered their Premier League rivals under Slot.

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