Arne Slot commended Wataru Endo’s mentality and attitude following the midfielder’s contribution to Liverpool’s hard-fought 1-0 win against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The Japan captain has had limited playing time in the Premier League this season.
He’s only appeared for a few stoppage-time minutes in the 2-0 victory over Brentford in August before the weekend’s match at Selhurst Park.
Despite his limited appearances, Endo was called upon again for the final six minutes of stoppage time as the Reds battled to secure their victory in south London.
Arne Slot expressed admiration for Endo’s professionalism and commitment, noting that the former Stuttgart star has maintained a positive outlook despite the lack of opportunities so far this season.
“I think that is one of the most positive things about this team,” Slot said when asked about Endo after the game.
“Even if a player comes in for five or seven minutes, such a big player – someone who is captain of their country – comes in five minutes before the end.
“Sometimes, at certain clubs, other teams, I see a player coming in [unhappy] ‘you only use me for five minutes?’
“But if you looked at how good Wata was with the ball but also the second balls he won, he had only in these minutes a very good impact and that tells you a lot about the team cohesion but definitely also about the person in this situation that Wata only played five minutes that said a lot about him as a person but a lot about the team cohesion as well.”
Slot added: “There is a lot that goes into it and a lot to tell you to give you a good answer but one of the things you saw today was how much we controlled the first 60 and then we had 15 or 20 minutes that was difficult and then in the last 10 we took control again.
“We took control by having a good build-up and that helps to tire the opponents and the other team because they have to run a lot, they have to defend a lot to make it difficult for us.
“And then the work rate our attackers put in is also extraordinary, that combination with a few other things – because it is also the quality of the centre-backs and the goalkeeper – leads to so many clean sheets.”
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