The Liverpool boss was speaking to the media for the first time since Salah’s weekend outburst
Arne Slot admits he doesn’t know whether Mohamed Salah will play for Liverpool again after expressing his “surprise” at the explosive outburst that has cast major doubt over the winger’s Anfield future.
But the Reds boss is adamant his authority has not been undermined by Salah’s claims his relationship with Dutchman has broken down completely.
Salah has been left out of Liverpool’s squad for Tuesday’s Champions League clash at Inter Milan with the club, in consultation with and with the full support of Slot, making the decision in the wake of the comment made by the player after Saturday evening’s 3-3 Premier League draw at Leeds United having been benched for a third time in a week.
Liverpool have only one game – at home to Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday – before Salah is due to link up with Egypt to prepare for the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations.
The winger is scheduled to return in January, by which point the transfer window will have opened with a number of clubs in Saudi Arabia and Europe having already been linked with interest.
And asked if Salah had played his last game for Liverpool, Slot said: “I have no clue. I cannot answer that question at this point in time.
“I am a firm believer that there is always a possibility to return for a player. But that is not… I can leave it with that I think.
“I think we are sitting here on an evening before a big game for us. You can understand that I’ve tried to prepare my team in the best possible way for tomorrow. Most of my thoughts are about tomorrow.
“In the meantime we decided not to bring with us to this game and then after tomorrow we will look at the situation again.”
Salah’s comments about being “thrown under the bus” and that he is being scapegoated for Liverpool’s ongoing poor form – the champions have won only four of their last 15 games in all competitions – have been interpreted as indirect criticism of the Liverpool boss.
But Slot said of the ongoing situation: “I don’t feel my authority has been undermined. (But) it’s not about me, it’s about it being more difficult for the team and the club.
“Nobody likes being in this situation (in terms of results). It’s difficult to see staff members who work hard on a daily basis being affected by it, mainly the results. Mostly my thoughts go to that. I’m important to this situation as I pick the team but my focus is on the team and not me.
“He has every right to feel what he feels, but if he has the right to share it with the media then we have to react with it.”
Slot added: “Can I understand his comments? Then I should know what he exactly means with it. That’s why it’s difficult for me and why he says it and who he’s referring to.
“(I haven’t had that conversation with him), nope. Not what he meant with those words. Usually I’m calm, I’m polite but it doesn’t mean I’m weak so if a player has these commands about so many things, then it’s about me and the club to react. We reacted in way you can see – he’s not here.”
Asked if he was on speaking terms with Salah before Saturday, Slot said: “Yes, we were. But it doesn’t mean we always agreed on things. I spoke to him twice in the two days before Leeds. I didn’t speak to him (at length) after Leeds.”
Of Salah claiming he no longer has a relationship with the manager, Slot added: “That is not the way I feel, but he has the right to feel how he feels things. I haven’t felt that at all until Saturday evening for sure.
“When I don’t play someone usually players don’t like the manager that much but he was really respectful to the staff and manager, his team-mates and he trained very hard so it was a surprise to me when I heard the comments that he gave.
“But it is not the first or last time a player who doesn’t play says something similar to what he did. But my reaction to that is clear and that’s why he is not here tonight.
“He was on the training ground and I told him he would not travel. (The conversation was) a short one.”
Explaining why Salah had been benched for the last three games, Slot added: “I think we as a team struggled this and already last season more and more with game plans other teams had against us.
“I am not only talking about the long ball style that teams mainly do against us now. I have tried to come up with solutions because that is my job, we have tried many things.
“We looked very vulnerable after all the things I tried against Forest and PSV so then I decided to play with an extra midfielder against West Ham where we won, so I decided to do it one more time against Sunderland but at half-time I brought him in.
“Against Leeds we faced a 5-3-2 so I decided to play a 4-4-2 diamond with Hugo (Ekitike) a bit off the right and Cody (Gakpo) a bit off the left with Florian (Wirtz) in between. And I could have played Mo as well instead of Hugo, but I decided to play Hugo.”
