The five areas Arne Slot will need to address at Liverpool

Watching on from Rotterdam, Arne Slot will have learnt much from Liverpool’s performance at West Ham. Here are the key issues he must deal with:

Sort out Salah

We are unlikely to soon discover what it was that was said between Jurgen Klopp and Mo Salah as the Egyptian pounded the London Stadium touchline, waiting to come on as substitute.

Klopp tersely dismissed the idea that there was any lingering animosity in their public spat, insisting everything was sorted; Salah was less inclined to draw a line under things, saying as he walked out of the building that if he spoke about what had happened there “would be fire”. Clearly there is an issue.

Salah’s recent goal-free performances have been lacking the edge that made him the most explosive forward in the Premier League. And when he came on against West Ham, far from demonstrating to the manager that he was wrong to say whatever it was that was said, his contribution was entirely forgettable. Speaking on TNT Sport, Ally McCoist suggested that it might be best for both club and player if he were to leave in the summer.

But Slot will know that easily the quickest route to delivering a trophy in his first season is to have a fit and firing Salah in his side. If it is a personal thing, a falling out between player and coach, then Slot – renowned as a man manager – will not be daunted by the prospect of realigning and resetting his prized asset. If the issue is that the player has tired of driving Liverpool forward, then the new man might conclude the McCoist solution is best. One way or another, something needs to be done. And soon.

Work on set-pieces

When 5ft 9in Jarrod Bowen outjumped 6ft 5in Virgil van Dijk to head home West Ham’s opening goal from a corner, Slot will have realised that of all the sizeable posse of backroom staff he will bring to Merseyside, his set-piece coach is going to be the busiest.

Spring-heeled as he might be, Liverpool’s marking went horribly awry as Bowen stole into space among players who should easily be dominating him in the air. A significant amount of tactical work awaits on the Kirkby training pitches.

Energy, energy, energy

Instead of the triumphal march to a quadruple that at one time seemed possible to mark Klopp’s departure, Liverpool’s season is seeping away into fitful anti-climax. Slot will have noted how, good as they were at points particularly in the second half, much of the energy that once defined Klopp’s side appears to have dissipated. This was less heavy metal football, more easy listening.

Alexis Mac Allister, for instance, for so long this season the fulcrum of the side, looked at times exhausted. Much of that might be emotional, for all Klopp’s insistence that focus should be preserved, it is perhaps inevitable his impending departure will have taken its toll. But whatever the cause, watching from a distance Slot will appreciate that he will have to work intensively in pre-season to restore the energy levels necessary to sustain a campaign on four fronts.

Maximise full-backs

It is not all bad news. Here was compelling evidence that the Dutchman is inheriting the two best attacking full-backs in the Premier League. For much of this season, injuries have prevented Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold being used in harness.

At the London Stadium, they were Liverpool’s most creative players, Alexander-Arnold spraying telling passes all over the pitch, Robertson’s runs down the left wing causing all sorts of problems for West Ham’s defence (he even scored a goal). Keeping those two fit will be an absolute priority for the new man.

Become Liverpool’s ‘Daddy’ like Klopp

Slot would have been wise to listen in to the post match press conferences. Particularly to David Moyes’s analysis of Klopp. “He’s been immense for Liverpool,” the West Ham manager said. “He’s the Daddy there. Being able to control a big football club is not something that is easy to do.” As Moyes, after his traumatic few months at Old Trafford a decade ago, knows. But his point was telling.

Klopp was not just a coach at Anfield, in charge of tactics and personnel. He was a figurehead, the presiding impresario over a seven-day-a-week rolling show. He understood the club, his personality perfectly aligning with its purpose and sense of self. It is not easy to achieve, but if Slot is to succeed, Moyes is right: he will need to impose himself as Klopp did. He too will have to become the Daddy.

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