Liverpool manager Arne Slot insists the club has put behind it the controversy surrounding Mohamed Salah’s angry reaction to being dropped, stressing that the team is now focused on progressing in the direction he envisions.
The Reds travel to Tottenham on Saturday knowing they could be without Salah for up to a month, as the forward is currently on international duty with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Liverpool’s form has improved after a torrid spell that saw them lose nine of 12 matches.
Slot has overseen a five-game unbeaten run, notably with Salah starting none of those fixtures.
“Actions speak louder than words. We moved on,” Slot told reporters on Friday, explaining his decision to introduce Salah from the bench in last weekend’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 a challenging second campaign for Slot in England, Liverpool are seventh in the Premier League standings and could climb into the top four with a win against a struggling Spurs side.
The Merseyside club underwent a major rebuild in the summer, spending close to £450 million on new arrivals including Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez.
However, aside from Ekitike, the new signings have found it difficult to make an immediate impact.
Slot admitted he may have underestimated the time needed for the revamped squad to settle and deliver consistent performances.
“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.”
On the team news, Joe Gomez and Cody Gakpo will not feature in north London due to injury, while Slot is optimistic Dominik Szoboszlai will be available to start.
Jeremie Frimpong is set to return after being sidelined for two months.
