Jurgen Klopp vowed he’d be Arne Slot’s biggest supporter ahead of his first Liverpool game in the Premier League.
Slot will get his Reds career properly underway in the early kick-off away at newly-promoted Ipswich Town on Saturday. There’s undoubtedly big pressure on his shoulders to follow in the footsteps of Klopp.
But the German has done what he can to help alleviate as much of that as possible, showing his passion for Liverpool extends beyond his time in charge. Klopp made sure to speak to Slot earlier this summer.
The Dutchman revealed the details of their conversation in his first interview at his new club, explaining: “He gave me more than a few good tips but I think what stood out for me was that he was so happy for me.
“I think he said this in the media as well, he would be my biggest fan from now on because he supports Liverpool in the best possible way, and you don’t see this very often. So, it says a lot about his character, the way he handled this situation as well.”
For someone who has only managed in his native Netherlands in his coaching career so far, much like Klopp before he moved to England, Slot felt it was important to pick his brains – especially given the mark he left on the city as a whole.
He continued: “I did the same in my former clubs when I started over there but I think if someone worked at a club for nine years, been so successful, you want to know all about it from him and you also want to know things of the players – although I think it is also important to get my own opinion about that.
“So, you can only use all this information he has because he did so well, not only in terms of results but I think also everybody saw in his farewell but also in the years before that how popular he was.”
Slot’s new era will kick off with the same team Klopp left behind, with no summer signings yet to be made at Anfield. It doesn’t seem formation was one of the tips he took on board, however, with him favouring 4-2-3-1 in possession as opposed to the 4-3-3 Klopp was so successful with.
