Arne Slot could do with taking a leaf out of Unai Emery’s book as the Liverpool boss was again guilty of the same hypocrisy in his programme notes ahead of their clash with Crystal Palace that’s been a significant feature of his interviews and press conferences in recent weeks.
“It goes without saying that our recent form has not reached the standards that you expect of us or that we expect of ourselves.
“This is, of course, a major disappointment, especially given the positive start we made to the season.
“From our perspective, there are no excuses. Yes, we are aware of the reasons and we will discuss them, but the one thing we cannot and will not do is use them as an excuse.
“Our responsibility is to recognise what is happening and put things right. There is no other option.”
It’s very, very difficult to imagine him cultivating a ‘no excuse’ culture in the dressing room when in front of those closed doors he’s done little else but make excuses for his side’s run of four Premier League defeats on the bounce.
He’s been at pains to point out since labouring over the number of long balls Manchester United played from their low block that it wasn’t a criticism of Ruben Amorim, apparently believing that to be the cause of furore in the aftermath, rather than the reality of the masses simply thinking it was a pathetic excuse.
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As was his very strange frustration at managers having the temerity to make changes to their starting XIs to play Liverpool. It’s almost as if they’re trying to catch him out.
After the Brentford defeat, Slot signposted his list of excuses with his “this isn’t an excuse” catchphrase.
“Of the last six games we’ve played, there have been five away, something that is not helpful if you’re on the run of form we’re on.”
Liverpool had the best away record last season and beat both Palace and Brentford away from home, whom they’ve lost to in this run, and while they did lose to Chelsea last term, it was in a dead rubber after they had already won the title.
Slot then mentioned a stone-cold Jurgen Klopp classic in mitigation of a defeat by pointing to his side having “only two days’ rest”, before bemoaning the “soft penalty” awarded to Brentford, instead of perhaps suggesting his captain – one of the greatest Premier League defenders of all time – shouldn’t be swinging a lazy leg.
Him then suggesting that if that one was given then they too should have been awarded a penalty for a perceived foul on Cody Gakpo is the sort of ‘evening up decisions’ argument we would have thought beneath a man of Slot’s evident intelligence and the refreshing objectivity which was a key trait in his first season at Anfield, but has made way for a blinkered view now that his back’s against the wall.
“It definitely (our form) also has to do with if you change quite a lot in the summer. I think it’s not a surprise that it can go a bit like this. But I didn’t expect it to go with four losses in a row. It’s always a bit of a bumpy road if you change.”
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He’s talking as if Liverpool are some sort of feeder club, or a minnow pillaged for their assets, with Slot now left to pick up the pieces. Trent Alexander-Arnold aside, they chose to buy and sell those players.
We understand that in some instances Slot is asked why he thinks Liverpool’s form has dipped when he’s listing these excuses which aren’t excuses. And he does also freely admit that they’ve defended poorly, haven’t taken their chances and haven’t been as good in general.
But surely, if he wants to create a ‘no excuses’ environment, the best thing to do isn’t to ‘discuss them’ with his players, as he suggests in his programme notes will be the case, but to nip them in the bud; to not even acknowledge them.
Because we don’t know of a human being on this earth who could listen to Slot’s excuses in a press conference, listen to them again as they talk about them in a team meeting, and then not – on some level – ‘use those excuses’.
Emery had it right when he was asked about Aston Villa’s injury crisis at the end of the 2023/2024 season.
“Excuses are not my mentality. I am usually not speaking about ‘if’. We just have to play. We have to accept each result and enjoy each moment. My objective is to send the same message to players and supporters — enjoy. If we find something through excuses, it’s a mistake.”
