Slot admits early pressure due to 'love' for Klopp

New Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has said his first challenge will be to get good results early and keep fans happy as the club get used to life after Jürgen Klopp.

The former Feyenoord Slot was confirmed as Klopp’s successor in May, and has started work at the club’s training ground while players are either on holiday or involved in the Euros or Copa América.

In an interview on Liverpool’s website, Slot said he knows winning games early in his tenure will go a long way to helping the transition and his connection with fans.

“That is a challenge because I’m 100% sure that many people who are still at this club still love him [Klopp],” Slot said.

“We have to find a way that people get used to me and used to the new staff that’s coming in, and get the same energy in this building and eventually into the stadium as well because that’s where it’s all about — we have to perform during the games.

“But to perform there, I think it’s important to have a good idea of how we want to play and a good energy within the team and within the people who are working at Liverpool.”

Slot won the Dutch Eredivisie title in 2023 and the Dutch Cup in 2024 with Feyenoord.

The 45-year-old said he is excited to take the reigns from Klopp and is confident the club is in a good place following his departure.

“Jürgen left the club in a really good place, left the team in a really good place. I think we have a lot of quality and the way they played last season was already impressive, so we are going to build from there,” Slot said.

“Of course, you want to take some people with you as well because they know who you are, they know your playing style and they can translate this to the other people in the staff as well.

“But if you go to a club like Liverpool, you can assume — and I already noticed that — that there are a lot of good people working here as well.

“So, we are going to use hopefully the best of both worlds to implement a few things from us and to use the knowledge that is inside this club already because of the nine years Jürgen and his staff worked here.”

Sipke Hulshoff will follow Slot from Feyenoord as an assistant coach, while Ruben Peeters will also join Liverpool as a performance coach.