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Arne Slot comments on Liverpool job speak volumes as Jurgen Klopp concerns brushed off
Arne Slot is preparing to take over from Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
Arne Slot appears ready to take on the top Liverpool job and seems unconvinced that the weight of the position will be dramatically different from his current role at Feyenoord. The world will be watching as Jurgen Klopp prepares to bid farewell at Anfield on the final day of the Premier League season, with Slot ready and waiting to step in.
Liverpool have not officially confirmed Slot as Klopp’s replacement, but various reports have suggested that the deal is all sealed. He is fresh off a cup win and will finish second in the Eredivisie, behind PSV, and has big shoes to fill starting next summer.
However, Slot has downplayed the magnitude of his switch, insisting that his role will not be changed dramatically even though he is joining one of the world’s biggest clubs. He insists that having led one of the Netherlands’ top teams, he will be used to the scale of the task at hand.
“I think that almost every trainer of a top club is on the edge of being overworked,” he said. “Being a head coach is a very tough job. Especially at a top club with so many opinion makers in front of you every week. I really experienced this, as it turns out, last season at Feyenoord as tough.”
When asked if joining Liverpool would put more pressure on him, Slot replied: “That would also have been the case if I had stayed at Feyenoord. Expectations in De Kuip are also high. People expect good football and good results. That has often been successful, but as a trainer you are constantly working on that.”
Slot has seemingly allayed any fears that the job awaiting him could be too difficult of a step-up, though will only know for sure once he gets his feet under the desk at Anfield.
Klopp quits after a nearly a decade on Merseyside as one of their favourite adopted sons, but even he knew that he was “running out of energy” when his resignation was made public earlier this year.
Though Slot does have Klopp to help him, as the German has already admitted that his replacement can call him anytime in order to discuss the challenges and pitfalls which may lie ahead.
“I am not in a position to give advice,” Klopp said earlier this month when asked about his role in picking a replacement, before offering an olive branch to Slot: “When new people come in, if they want to know something they can call me – the whole world has my number. We can speak about absolutely everything, I love talking about everything in this club.”