S Poddar
Forward Diogo Jota said that he fully supported new manager Arne Slot’s policy of rotating the squad, which is a radical change from what he had experienced at Feyenoord. Slot, who was not used to this kind of situation as he had played lesser games for the Netherlands, has readily welcomed this change as he will face the biggest season of his career with Liverpool, who will compete in four fronts – the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup.
Another triumph, and another for the Liverpool team, this time picking up a 5-1 trouncing of West Ham in the Carabao Cup for the fourth round. Slot has been doing all this lately to keep players fresh and ready for the demanding schedule waiting to be tackled.
“It’s everything – it’s so important,” Jota said about managing player workload. He conceded that some teammates had hardly gotten the ball out yet, but he was quick to emphasize that rotation in the squad is critical to stay competitive and ensure everyone is prepared for what is about to come ahead. “We know the staff work on managing the players and their load as we know a lot of things are coming, and we want to be in the best place possible,” he said during an interview with LFCTV.
The Portuguese forward also spoke about the ambitions of the team to win again in cup competitions, as this season already represents their second Cup triumph after last year’s. “We wanted to progress in the cup; we won it last year and we want to do it again. Since I’ve been here, we have won it twice already. Like in a game when you score two, you want the third one, and that is exactly what we want this season,” Jota added.
Under Slot, new entrants into the team are prioritized. To the manager, he is set to give ample playing minutes to Federico Chiesa from Juventus, a new signing who has been struggling to match fitness. On the other hand, Slot is set to get Darwin Nunez into the team, thus creating a seamless integration for him to adapt to the team’s needs and trend.
Despite this, Slot is optimistic that he shall manage his team skilfully all through the season and maintain competitiveness. He admits that in helping him to achieve this feat with players like Jota, he has to do well his rotations and even training preparation. “We are trying to manage his minutes like the others in the best possible way, but we also try to prepare him in the week and in the first months of pre-season to prepare him for so many games in the Premier League,” Slot explained.
With Liverpool fighting it out in so many competitions, commitment to squad rotation seems one of the most crucial strategies for both the playing personnel and the coaches. Being on one page over winning the silverware, Jota and all his teammates embrace this and the Reds are ready for a great season.
