Arne Slot hosted his pre-match press conference on Thursday this week as he wanted the players to have Friday off, despite it coming just two days before Man City vs. Liverpool.
Part of why Slot’s reign has started so well has been the culture already instilled in the players that he hasn’t had to improve.
However, he has made some changes to the team’s match preparations.
As well as letting the players stay at home, rather than in a hotel, before home games, the head coach also likes the squad to have the day off two days before matches.
In January, Slot explained: “If possible, we always prefer to have them off three days before a game, it’s not always possible, but we try.”
This was also the case before Liverpool’s match against Man City on December 1, and it can’t have done any harm given the Reds ran out 2-0 winners just four days after beating Real Madrid at Anfield.
Back in October, Slot was asked on Sky Sports if he had implemented any new rules, to which he replied: “Maybe we’ve implemented one or two and if you ask me which ones I don’t even maybe know which they are.
“Like I said, there was a real good culture of players being on time, so I hate if we have to talk about fines and all these kind of things for players being too late – it’s normal that you are on time.
“But that culture was already here. I can’t come up actually with a rule that I have changed.”
Speaking about not sleeping in a hotel the night before Anfield fixtures, Slot added: “Maybe the only one, I don’t know if it’s a rule, but they were used to going into hotels a lot the day before the game.
“And that’s what we’ve changed because I felt and my staff feel the best place to sleep is your own bed, it gives you the best rest possible.
“That’s not a rule, but that’s maybe one of the few things we’ve changed, that players are before a home game in their own house, in their own bed, instead of being in a hotel.
“That’s not a rule, but that did change.”
