Caoimhin Kelleher has pinpointed one thing which he believes has made things ‘easier’ for Arne Slot since taking over as Liverpool head coach in the summer.
The Dutchman has taken on the gargantuan task of trying to emulate Jurgen Klopp in the Anfield dugout, but nine wins in his first 10 games in charge would suggest that he’s gleefully embraced that challenge.
Speaking during the ongoing international break, the Republic of Ireland goalkeeper claimed that the 46-year-old has been helped by his predecessor bequeathing him a strong squad, something that the new boss has himself acknowledged.
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Kelleher said (via Liverpool Echo): “There was a massive change for us, the manager leaving and a lot of the staff and coaches as well, but I think important for us and the squad of players was that there weren’t too many changes in the squad of players.
“We all know what it’s about, we came close to the league last year, so there is that high motivation already to go that one step further. I think that makes it easier for the new manager coming in, that he inherits a squad full of quality.
“Like he has been saying, there’s a lot of quality within the squad and a lot of experience and motivation to go that one step further.”
As Kelleher rightly says, one advantage that Slot may have had over his predecessors is that he took over from a position of relative strength in comparison to what Klopp had inherited nine years ago.
The goalkeeper also alluded to the large sense of continuity from last season, with the bulk of the squad from 2023/24 still at Anfield and only one newcomer to the current roster in Federico Chiesa, who’s made just three appearances so far.
The Liverpool boss may have had a very solid foundation from which to build, but it’s to his vast credit that he’s instantly gotten a tune out of a group of players who’d become accustomed to Klopp’s methods, with quite a few faces having spent several years under the German.
That combination of a top-class squad, plenty of continuity and the arrival of a shrewd coach in Slot has served us very well at the start of the season, and hopefully it’s a sign of even better things to come during the 46-year-old’s reign.
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