Arne Slot has been a revelation since joining Liverpool last year, and everyone across football has immense respect for him.
The Dutchman joined the Reds following the departure of the longtime manager and transformative figure Jurgen Klopp after nine years on Merseyside.
In his first season, there was little expectation of silverware, let alone a top-five finish, from pundits, but he proved everyone wrong, winning the Premier League title and taking Liverpool to a League Cup final.
It was an incredible achievement for a coach who did not expect immediate success, and now he has been able to build a team using £400 million to transform the squad into his own image.
Slot has made his team favourites after their initial success, and they are currently unbeaten in all competitions this season, with a five-point gap in the league title race so far.
Micah Richards loves ‘genius’ Arne Slot’s honesty
It is not only his tactics that have been the centre of praise for the 47-year-old but also his character and man management, which were under the spotlight after this week’s Carabao Cup tie with Southampton.
Following the Hugo Ekitike red card incident, the Dutch coach was very frank in his assessment of his player’s actions, labelling the card as ‘needless and stupid’ given he will now miss the Crystal Palace game on Saturday.
Micah Richards was one pundit who could not contain his love for the manager following this and heaped praise on him for handling the situation as well as he did.
Discussing the match on The Rest is Football with Gary Lineker, the former Manchester City centre-back explained why Slot has found himself in the ‘perfect’ position.
Richards said: “That’s why we love Slot. He’s just so honest, isn’t he? He’s great. Every time he’s in a press conference, I’m just like, ‘This guy is a genius.’ He just knows how to play it.
“He gives you information, but not too much. He’ll protect his players when he needs to. He can also call him stupid because he knows he’s got Isak waiting in the wings. Everything is just like it’s perfect, isn’t it? He knows exactly what he’s doing.”
Arne Slot handled Hugo Ekitike’s red card perfectly
It was surprising to hear Slot call an incident involving his player for what it was, and the way he handled the incident shows why he is the perfect manager to lead this club to sustained success.
In an incident like this, it could be easy enough to back a player to the hilt, but instead, he gave a fair criticism and was honest to the press about exactly what he said to the Frenchman.
What this shows is that he is a coach who wears his heart on his sleeve, not letting anything get in the way of winning on the pitch.
This kind of mentality makes him one of the best managers in the world; his belief and ruthlessness in his way of thinking mean he is a decisive figure, which is exactly what is needed to be a champion in football.
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