Arne Slot has detailed his approach to the start of Liverpool’s pre-season following the death of Diogo Jota, having told his players to “do what Diogo did.”
Liverpool kick off their run of pre-season friendlies with a trip to Preston on Sunday afternoon, having returned to the AXA Training Centre on Tuesday.
It will be an emotional occasion with tributes throughout for Jota, and those players and staff who have lost a friend may all react in different ways.
That has made the start to pre-season needing careful management from Slot, who will not force his players to train or play if they feel they cannot but has accepted “we need to play again, if we want it or not.”
“What I’ve said to the players, I can say it here as well,” he explained in an interview with the club’s official website.
“It’s very difficult to find the right words because we constantly debate what is appropriate.
“What is appropriate in our actions? What is appropriate [for] what we have to say? Can we train again? Can we laugh again? Can we be angry if there’s a wrong decision?
“And I’ve said to them, maybe the best thing for us to do is handle this situation like Jota was.
“And what I meant with that is that Jota was always himself, it didn’t matter if he was talking to me, to his teammates, to the staff, he was always himself.
“So let us try to be ourselves as well. So, if we want to laugh we laugh; if we want to cry we’re going to cry.
“If they want to train they can train, if they don’t want to train they can not train.
“But be yourself, don’t think you have to be different than your emotions tell you.”
Slot added: “Jots was the player that if things were really, really, really difficult, I always looked at him and said, ‘now we need something special from you’.
“And he delivered so many times in those moments. I can come up with all of these moments, even before I was here he had many of these moments as well.
“So we are in a very difficult time, so let’s try to do what Diogo did so many times.
“If it’s so difficult then try a little bit harder or just keep on going and try to make it work.”
Liverpool have retired the No. 20 shirt in honour of Jota, who will be remembered not only throughout pre-season and into their title defence in 2025/26 – but now for generations to come.
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