Title, Trent and transfers - Slot reflects on season

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot says excuses are "for teams that don't win the league", and it is "nice" his side won the Premier League so he does not have to rely on them.

Reflecting on leading the club to a 20th top-flight title in his first year since succeeding Jurgen Klopp, the Dutchman told BBC Sport of his pride it had been achieved despite some challenges.

"All these excuses you could give to Liverpool... with us maybe not spending... or not bringing new players in, or taking over from someone," he said.

"All these things are excuses for teams that don't win the league, and it's nice that if you have all these excuses, that you don't have to use them, but you still just won it."

Liverpool secured the title without any serious strengthening of the squad Slot inherited, which he said made it "probably even more special".

And he drew comparisons with his time at Feyenoord, where he won the Eredivisie in 2023 despite an overhaul of his team.

"I did it now in two different leagues and in two different ways," he said.

Earlier this week, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta lamented how "red cards and injuries", external had impacted on their title bid.

Injuries to key players have similarly been cited in the lack of a sustained challenge from defending champions Manchester City - not least by manager Pep Guardiola.

In a wide-ranging interview conducted at the club's training ground before Liverpool's final match of the season against Crystal Palace on Sunday, Slot also spoke of:

Liverpool clinched their second title in five years with a month of the season to spare, and go into the final weekend with a 12-point lead over nearest challengers Arsenal.

Arteta has highlighted the fact Liverpool had secured 82 points when they won the title, while Arsenal managed 89 and 84 points in each of the past two years but finished runners-up.

Asked about the Spaniard's comments, Slot said: "Everybody has the right to have his own opinion... what he meant was: 'Sometimes you have to be in the right place at the right time.'

"I totally agree with him on that. Only not in a Premier League season. So in a Champions League, FA Cup, World Cups, then it is about 'in the right time in the right place'.

"In a season that's so long, then normally the best team wins the league."

Reflecting on the season, Slot said he would prefer to win the Premier League than the Champions League because it is "even more difficult".

He said: "You can reach a final with good luck, and you can never win a league with only having a lot of luck.

"Maybe we were a bit lucky that City had - for the first time in five years - a difficult period. But we were also part of that difficult period, because we beat them at home [when] they had already lost a few... and we didn't have one, and that's what you need when you want to win a league like this.

"You cannot have a longer period of games where you drop points."

On reaching a final with "luck", Slot felt his side did not get any when they were knocked out of the Champions League by Paris St-Germain.

The French champions have since gone on to beat Aston Villa and Arsenal en route to the final, where they will face Inter Milan on 31 May.

Liverpool topped the league phase of the new-look competition, winning seven of their eight games, including victory over Real Madrid.

"We were very unlucky that we had to play PSG in March, because in this country we don't have a winter break," Slot said.

"So we had to play from November to March with all these Real Madrid games and City games... all these tough games in between.

"And then at the end of that period we had to play one team that can play just as intense as we can, only they had a winter break and we were in the end of a four-month period.

"So I think if we could have played them in April, that would have been better.

"And we were so unlucky because we were number one in the league table - we could have had Benfica - like Barca had - and afterwards Benfica and Dortmund, but we got PSG."

When asked how he had set about building on the work done by Klopp after Liverpool ended the 2023-24 Premier League season nine points behind Manchester City in third, Slot said: "Of course it helps, if you outperform at a club like Feyenoord.

"[I got] a lot of confidence, that they didn't only bring me in to win the league - it was also my playing style and Jurgen left this club, this team, in a great place."

Klopp won eight trophies in his time on Merseyside, including the Premier League title in 2020 and a Champions League win the previous year.

"The culture of this team and the way people work here together has been a joy to step into," Slot said.

"I didn't have to first get the discipline going - these guys were so disciplined and working so hard, and I saw already that there was a lot of quality over here.

"The way they prepare themselves, the way they are ready for every game, every three days, gives you the confidence that we are able to win against any team.

"What we needed to do was do a few things better."

Slot said when he arrived at Anfield his aim had been to qualify for the Champions League.

"And like you see now, that's not an easy task in this country, because so many very good teams are competing for that," he said.

"But the moment I started working with the players... and that was only two weeks before the start of the season, I felt like, 'oh, this is definitely quality'."

Winning the title, he said, was "an achievement that we hoped for".

"We worked really hard, but to say we expected it, I expected it, would be a bit too much," he added.

Nevertheless, the season will end with Monday's bus parade to mark Liverpool's record-equalling 20th title.

"I think these moments will be one of the most special moments in your life, professional-wise, maybe the most special moment," Slot said.

Celebrating Feyenoord's title success with 100,000 people had been "very special", he said, but "to do it with a multiple of that will probably be a once-in-a-lifetime experience".

"Although, we are planning to win a few things more at this club, so let's hope it's not going to be the last time," he added.

England defender Alexander-Arnold will end a 20-year association with Liverpool after Sunday's match.

The 26-year-old Liverpudlian opted to not renew his contract and is expected to join Real Madrid.

Alexander-Arnold has won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, Super Cup and Club World Cup with Liverpool, and for some fans his departure has bitten hard - his appearances since announcing he would leave have been against a backdrop of some booing.

When asked what reception he hopes Alexander-Arnold receives when he is presented with his title winner's medal on Sunday, Slot said: "I hope the same for every other player that contributed to us winning the league, that they will get the reception every player deserves.

"All have worked so hard, not only this season, but throughout their careers to achieve something like this. They did this for themselves, but partly also driven by our fans.

"It would be fantastic, if it's only going to be a positive moment for everyone at the club, and Trent is part of that.

"I hope I can influence them, but they have their own opinion as well."

When the contracts of Egypt winger Salah and Netherlands defender Van Dijk were also set to expire at the end of the season, there was much speculation the club could be losing three key players at once.

However, new deals for Salah and Van Dijk were announced last month, much to fans' relief.

When asked how involved he had got in the negotiations with Salah and Van Dijk, Slot said: "80% was done by the club, separate, but they kept me updated.

"But I like the idea that all those contract things are not done by me, but by someone else, because in this league you need all of your time to prepare your team for the upcoming game. It hasn't been difficult for me, because it hasn't been difficult for the players.

"If it had been difficult for the players, then I would have spent a lot of time talking to them and getting them ready for the next game.

"But I think maybe because we thought we were trying to compete until the end of the Champions League, and for the Premier League, that helped also the players to just stay focused on: 'We can do something special over here.'

"And I think the most special moment for Mo and for Virgil is not their contract extension this year, but it was and is us winning the league. And this is what you live for, it's not the contract - they already have enough money, at least that's what I think!"

Salah has admitted finding Slot initially "quite tough" and recently spoke of the pair having "honest conversations", external during pre-season after a lacklustre warm-up in a training session, about doing more and setting a good example to younger players.

Does saying that to a player of that status come with risk?

"I'm not so stupid that I just say this out of the blue, bam," said Slot. "And I think I'm smart enough, and I think the main thing you have to do as a manager, if you want to bring your message across... you have to do this in the right way.

"So it wasn't only that - probably I gave him 15 compliments during that conversation, and then I showed him how he did the warm-up."

Slot acknowledged that at that point of pre-season, Salah was largely training with academy players, and added: "I could even understand him thinking, 'is all of this necessary?'

"The way your message comes across, that is something where I think we as managers can make a difference, not so much maybe in our tactics because everybody has great tactics, but how you bring your tactics across - do the players believe in it?

"That is something I think where a manager can make the difference."

Both Arsenal and Manchester City will be expected to be among Liverpool's rivals for next season's title - with both clubs also expected to spend big in the summer.

After little transfer outlay in the past year, Slot was asked if he needed to do likewise - and, if so, on which positions.

Like Guardiola, he is concerned at the impact of having too big a squad.

Slot said: "I think another question is: 'Does a player that doesn't play that much want to stay at a club where he's not playing that much?'

"I always say that to be on the bench for one season is already difficult - to not play a lot two seasons in a row is almost impossible, so it's not only what I want, it's also what the player wants."

He knows Liverpool will have to buy new players to compete - though accepts it may not be possible to bring in the targets he wants.

"City will probably strengthen the squad again. If the rumours are correct, Arsenal is planning the same, so it would be stupid if we are not looking at trying to strengthen the squad as well," he said.

"Again, I've said it many times, it's not that easy because this team has already won the league. So to find players that can strengthen us - that might not be that difficult - because there are certain players in the world where I think, 'if they would come, it would be nice'.

"But they're also playing at clubs where they don't want to leave. So there are not many that can strengthen us, but the few that are out there, we will try to get them.

"At this moment of time we're not sure if that's possible."