Criticism “does something to you mentally,” says Liverpool boss Slot | OneFootball

Ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Qarabağ in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, Arne Slot admitted that “it’s going to be really difficult to quieten the outside noise” surrounding the club this season.

Having won the Premier League last season with a 10-point margin over Arsenal, Slot’s side currently sit sixth – trailing the Gunners by 14 points after 23 games.

The Champions League tells a different story, though, and the Reds could confirm automatic progression to the round-of-16 with a win at Anfield on Wednesday.

“It’s impossible to shut down the noise”

Liverpool’s underperformance has been one of the key talking points of the Premier League season, and Slot admitted that “it’s going to be really difficult to quieten the outside noise with the position we are in the league.

“Even if we win a few games, every loss or every disappointing result will start the noise coming back again. That’s what you expect if you started the season as we did, not started but at a certain moment with so many losses. But it’s impossible to shut down the noise at a club like this if you are not competing for the league. What we have to improve, for me it’s so simple.”

The 47-year-old explained that “between the boxes we are a very, very, very good team. The way we play out from the back, the way we bring the ball towards promising positions, the box entries we have, also against Bournemouth so many times we were in positions where I would like my players to be in.

“But killing those moments, bringing it from promising positions towards chances and if we have the chances then be clinical and finish it off – that is something where we have to improve. So, in the box we have to improve.

“And in the other box, other teams arrive there three, four times a game [and] too many times if they arrive it leads to chances and sometimes to goals. So, there’s an imbalance in how many times we arrive in promising positions and how many teams arrive there – but there’s not an imbalance in the goals that are scored, and that’s a very bad cocktail we are having.

“If we can improve in both boxes, we can do very special things this season. If we can only improve in one box then it’s probably going to be an acceptable season but not more than that. And if we can’t improve in both boxes, [there is] going to be a lot of noise throughout the whole season.”

Criticism “does something to you mentally”

The former Feyenoord boss took a moment to thank his players for their unwavering commitment, explaining: “I want to emphasise how much respect I have for the players that we have, because it’s almost constantly the same players that have to play and they have to do this in difficult circumstances.

“What I mean with that is results are not what we want and we get scrutinised – we all are scrutinised – and we get the criticism that we deserve. But usually if you get so much criticism, that does something to you mentally and if you then have to play so many minutes, I can give you multiple examples of players then getting injured.

“So, that’s why I have so much respect for my players, that within the circumstances that we are in, they are constantly available – except for the three or four long-term injuries we have,” he added.