‘That day I was angry’ – Arne Slot names the one Liverpool performance which utterly enraged him | OneFootball

For the most part, Arne Slot has cut a calm and composed figure throughout his first season as Liverpool head coach.

It’s obviously helped that his team won the Premier League in emphatic style, even if there were a few victories which were earned the hard way with decidedly flawed performances.

The one notable occasion on which the 46-year-old’s temper boiled over was after the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, when he confronted Michael Oliver over a series of controversial decisions which went against the Reds that night as they let two points slip deep into stoppage time.

Slot was infuriated by one performance in particular

In an interview with James Pearce for The Athletic, Slot referenced one other match this season when he gave his players a rare blast of the proverbial half-time hairdryer, having been infuriated by a lacklustre Liverpool display.

The Reds boss said: “I don’t think it helps to be 15 to 20 times angry at half-time over a season. You have to save these moments for when it really matters.

“Nine out of 10 times I am only angry if I feel that there is no work rate. Like when we played at home to Southampton [in March, when his team trailed 0-1 at the interval]. That day I was angry! Against Ipswich [away] at half-time I was maybe a little bit angry.”

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Slot had every right to be angry that day

To be fair, if Slot wasn’t going to give his players a rocket on that afternoon against the Saints two months ago, then he never will!

A home fixture against the team rooted to the bottom of the league (who at that juncture had a pitiful tally of nine points compared to 66 for Liverpool) ought to have been as straightforward as it gets in this division, but instead we trailed at half-time as Will Smallbone capitalised on a comical mix-up between Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk.

The dressing down from the 46-year-old had the desired effect as the Reds need just nine second-half minutes to overturn the deficit on their way to a 3-1 victory which may have seemed routine in the end but was only achieved after the runaway leaders turned in a pitiful first-half display.

Slot is right to be selective with his moments for a half-time eruption, as doing so occasionally would likely be far more effective than constantly losing the rag to the extent that players simply tune out, thinking ‘here we go again’.

Liverpool’s results this season show that the Dutchman has struck the perfect balance between demanding consistently high standards and not being overly autocratic. For the players to respond so positively to him after the lengthy reign of the legendary Jurgen Klopp, illustrates that the current boss immediately gained the respect of the squad.

Long may the harmonious and victorious culture continue!