It turns out Arne Slot‘s dad thinks like all of us when it comes to wanting an exciting performance from Liverpool, but the head coach is not as eager for “stupid balls.”
It is always intriguing when a manager drops tidbits of information that do not directly pertain to a member of his squad or staff, and in Friday’s press conference Slot’s dad got a mention.
With Ipswich the visitors on Saturday, there was consideration from reporters that Liverpool ought to require patience against a side that are happy to concede possession and set up a low block.
• READ: Jones injury confirmed as Slot reveals doubt for at least 3 games
But coming off the back of a 6-0 defeat to Man City, there will be a certain level of expectation for Slot’s side to put up a similar score in an entertaining performance.
Supporters will, therefore, be expectant and that includes Slot’s dad, who is a fan and readily tells his son if a game was “exciting” or if more risk is needed – he’s like all of us!
“That is difficult for fans, my father is a fan as well,” Slot disclosed when discussing patience in a performance, which is easier said than done.
“When I call him after the game he can say, ‘It wasn’t as exciting as other games of Liverpool’ when he watched the game against Lille.
“Then I have to try to explain to him that these games you can easily lose if you’re starting to force all kinds of difficult balls.
“He’s not always agreeing with me then!
“But, as a manager, I was quite happy with our performance against Lille because they were a team that are so well organised and [had] so much control.”
Whether he was always a fan of the club or started when his son got the job, we’d quite like regular updates on what Arne’s dad thinks about Liverpool’s performances!
‘If you play these stupid balls’
Slot did then go on to explain why managing risk and reward is key, coining the term “stupid balls” – which his “father would love” to see more of.
He added: “There was one moment in the game (vs. Lille) I can remember that Curtis tried to play at the halfway line a ball that was a bit of a risk, and we lost that ball and they counter-attacked us.
“That’s the risk you have if you play against a low-block team.
“Forest is probably the best in the league if you play these stupid balls, which I call stupid balls – which my father would love to see us playing a bit more!
“That is the risk of them creating more chances. There’s a difficult balance between taking the risk and conceding a lot, or having control and maybe not creating as much.
“But against these teams going 1-0 down, like we’ve seen against Forest, is an even bigger problem, especially against a low block.
“It’s a balance we have to find, and I can understand it is sometimes difficult for fans as well that come to the stadium to see us winning but, hopefully, us scoring a lot of goals and an exciting match.
“You need two teams for that and the better we do, the less likely it is that teams come to Anfield and say, ‘OK, let’s go to a high press and press them all over the pitch’.”
Fan Comments