Arne Slot has said Liverpool have “moved on” from the controversy sparked by Mohamed Salah’s outspoken reaction to being benched, adding that the team is beginning to take shape in line with his vision.
The Reds face Tottenham away on Saturday and could be without Salah for as long as a month, as the forward is currently on international duty with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Following a difficult spell that saw nine defeats in 12 matches, Slot has guided Liverpool to a five-game unbeaten run, a period in which Salah did not start any match.
“Actions speak louder than words. We moved on,” Slot told reporters on Friday, explaining his decision to introduce Salah from the bench during last week’s 2-0 win over Brighton.
“Now he’s at the AFCON playing big games for himself and the country. All the focus for him is over there and there should not be any distraction of me saying anything because we moved on after the Leeds interview and he played against Brighton.”
Despite enduring a challenging second campaign in England, Liverpool currently sit seventh in the Premier League and could climb into the top four with a win against a struggling Spurs side.
The reigning English champions underwent a major overhaul in the summer transfer window, spending close to £450 million ($602 million) on Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez.
Aside from the standout performances of Ekitike, most of the new arrivals have struggled to find consistency, with Slot admitting he may have underestimated the time required for the revamped squad to settle.
“I think we are getting closer and closer to the team I want us to be and that has gone with ups and downs,” the Dutch coach said.
“But for me that makes complete sense because all the changes we’ve made during the summer and we made them on purpose because we thought we needed to.
“If I’m completely honest, maybe I didn’t expect it to take maybe as long as it did, but, looking back on it, reflecting on it now, I think I’ve been too positive because if you go with a new group where not all of them are completely ready to play every single game, 90 minutes in this intensity, you have to adapt.
“Sometimes he can play, then he cannot play. So it takes maybe a bit of time, and we’ve been very unlucky.”
Slot confirmed that Joe Gomez and Cody Gakpo will miss the trip to Tottenham through injury, but expressed optimism that Dominik Szoboszlai will be fit to start, while Frimpong returns after a two-month layoff.