Final: Man management is ‘the most important’ – Salah decision was ‘uncomfortable’

Fortunately, Salah and Slot reached a truce over the Egyptian’s comments in December that he had been ‘thrown under a bus’.

After starting three consecutive games on the bench, Salah claimed he no longer had “any relationship” with the head coach and that ‘someone didn’t want him at the club’.

The number 11 was then left at home for Liverpool’s victory at Inter Milan, but was reintegrated and started his first game back from AFCON in Marseille.

“I always find it uncomfortable when I leave out a player, and even more so a player who has meant a lot to this club,” Slot said to the media, among others. Liverpool echo.

“You can work with a player for a long time and you’ve had success with him, but part of my job is making the decision that I think is best for the team.

“But that is always an uncomfortable decision. Not only with Mo, but with every player I leave out because of the work they put in. Their quality is enough to play, so it is always uncomfortable not to play players.”

Andy Robertson is another legend of the club who dropped Slot from the starting XI, and the 31-year-old could now move to Tottenham as he aims to stay sharp as Scotland captain at the World Cup.

Slot added: “I think every player knows that a manager has to make decisions and I think every player 99 times out of 100 disagrees with the manager when he doesn’t play.

“That’s how it should be because if you don’t have confidence in yourself, it’s difficult to play in front of 60,000 people. These players need to have the confidence that ‘I’m good enough to play and I have to play’.”

“I’m not just talking about Mo now, but about everyone. I think it’s always difficult for players who are left out because they want to help and show that they can help the team.”

“Mo is certainly one of them. He is not a player who says ‘leave me out five times in a row’ – everyone has seen that. But in that respect everyone is the same.”

Arne Slot: Man management is “by far” the most important part of the job

Slot managed to win over the supporters by winning the competition in his first season, but if there were any doubts, they were in the team management department.

These concerns have been exacerbated by Liverpool’s poor form this season, with fringe players not being trusted in the same way as under predecessor Jurgen Klopp.

“Both situations require a lot of man management,” Slot explains.

“People think if you win it’s easy: you just walk in, walk to your office, walk to the field and things are done.

“No. There is a lot to do, because as we all know, players can get too confident.”

A recent example of man-management that was noticeably strange was when he flat out said there were ‘better options’ than Calvin Ramsay – it may be true, but it’s hardly a confidence-inspiring statement.

His words were omitted from the club’s official website and the Dutchman has since noticeably named the youngster as a contender to play, perhaps in recognition of his previous comments.

Slot does believe in the importance of individual relationships, but proverb: “People management is always one of the most important things.

“People think about tactics, but man management is by far the most important.”

Hopefully we start to see an improvement in this area, because as much as the head coach would like a small squad, if Liverpool want to compete on all fronts they need more than just Slot’s favored 14 on board.

While Slot may not believe he has all the assets he needs, saying it out loud is not conducive to creating the environment needed to win, even if the team is injured or absent.