EXCLUSIVE: Jurgen Klopp would have approached the turmoil surrounding Mo Salah differently to Arne Slot, according to an ex-Liverpool star
The managerial style of Jurgen Klopp would have been better suited to deal with Mohamed Salah’s controversial rant rather than Arne Slot. That’s according to ex-Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, who pointed out the differences between Klopp and Slot in their approach to man management.
Inner turmoil threatened to further derail Liverpool’s disappointing Premier League defence earlier this month when Salah claimed he’s “being thrown under the bus” by the club and stated his relationship with the Dutchman has completely broken down.
The 33-year-old’s comments came after Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Leeds – the third league game in a row he was benched for, and the second match this season he was an unused substitute.
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Salah hinted that a January exit was potentially on the cards, with Slot responding to his comments by leaving him out of the matchday squad in their 1-0 Champions League win over Inter Milan a few days later.
A meeting between the pair was held a day before the league clash against Brighton, with Salah being restored to the squad and coming on in the first half after Joe Gomez picked up an injury. He subsequently assisted Hugo Ekitike’s second goal in a 2-0 win for the Reds.
The state of the relationship between Salah and Slot may have been rectified in the short term, but the former’s future remains uncertain. It’s a situation Heskey believes Klopp would have been more adept in handling from the off because of his superior communication skills.
Speaking exclusively to the ECHOvia Australian Online Casinothe former England striker said: “Jurgen is more of a communicator with the players and keeps them focused. (He) lets them understand the highs and lows.
“It’s all about communication. For me, Salah isn’t a kid, he’s not a Rio Ngumoha or a Trey Nyoni, so I think he deserves an explanation on certain things.
“I don’t think the manager has done anything wrong in the sense of it’s up to him whether he wants to play Mo Salah or bench him. It’s his job that’s on the line. But in saying that, (Salah) does need more of an explanation because of what he’s done and who he is.”
Heskey pointed out the subtle difference in Klopp and Slot’s roles at Liverpool, with the German being appointed as a manager and the Dutchman being described as a head coach by the club.
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Despite the suggestion that Slot’s role largely encompasses training and tactics and perhaps less of the man management Klopp took on in his nine-year reign, Heskey says it remains Slot’s responsibility to start the conversation with Salah in attempts to mend fences.
“He’s the leader, he has to,” he added. “There’s two points to this, he’s a head coach. It doesn’t fall under his remit. When I was playing, it was managers. I would say Jurgen was a manager. Now, Arne looks like more of a coach, but because you’re the leader of the pack, you probably do need to be the first one who approaches to nip everything in the bud.
“It’s one of the most difficult jobs being a manager – fire-fighting everything. ‘Is that player okay, is the family okay?’ Making sure everything is okay, and this is where Jurgen was fantastic. Arne probably needs to have a little bit of an understanding of that role and the importance of it.”
