Arne Slot favourite WARNS Liverpool over coach's key WEAKNESS

Life under Arne Slot has been oh so good so far for Liverpool.

Better, though it might be sacrilegious to say, than it had been under Jurgen Klopp since the 2019/20 season. Liverpool have been top of the Premier League for what seems an age now, and have created previously-insurmountable points gaps.

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Fans are all too aware of how this is a direct consequence of Slot and the methods he has implemented. Numerous players are having the seasons of their lives under him, including Ryan Gravenberch and Ibrahima Konate, and Mo Salah looks like the best player in the world.

But a former player has spoken out about just what it takes for Slot to achieve these results - and the strain it puts on a squad.

Former star speaks out on Liverpool's Arne Slot

Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Iranian international winger and former star at both Feyenoord and AZ under Slot, explained just what Slot used to ask of him.

"He really went hard on me, about how I should defend, sprint back and a few other tactical things", Jahanbakhsh said of when Slot was an assistant at AZ to Voetbal International. "I said to my teammates: What's going on here? Why is he going so hard on everyone in that first meeting, and especially on me?"

But the Iranian knew what it meant. "It became my best season at AZ and I became top scorer of the Eredivisie. Arne was very important in that."

Where can Arne Slot 'make some progress'?

Slot then brought Jahanbakhsh to Feyenoord when he became manager in 2021, knowing he could match his demands.

"The wingers had to be at the top of the lists in terms of high-intensity runs, total distance and even more statistics. He finds that very important for a winger in the first place. He saw efficiency, goals and assists as something extra. That was more the topping, so to speak."

But the winger wasn’t all praise for Slot, pointing out that, "In terms of people management, he can still make some progress. He is a control freak with many things, but not really with personal things of players.

"Furthermore, he wants to know everything. What's happening inside and outside the club, the fans, the media. He's a real perfectionist. That can sometimes be a bit too much, but in the end he achieves results with it everywhere."

It’s a fascinating insight into the mind and methods of the man at the helm at Anfield right now. The demands of wingers are evident in the output he is getting from Mo Salah, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo right now, as well as his willingness to drop his starter if they are not up to scratch.

His control intensity also explains how he is so calm and collected in media appearances. If it appears that he knows everything, that seems to be because he does know everything.

But it’s working. Whether it is welcome for all players is another story, but the results so far are self-evident.

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