Arne Slot has dismissed claims from Wayne Rooney that he lacks the “aura” to manage Liverpool, noting such criticism was absent when he guided the team to the Premier League title last season.
Slot has come under pressure during a challenging title defence, with Liverpool currently outside the top four and the automatic UEFA Champions League places.
Rooney recently compared him unfavourably to predecessor Jurgen Klopp, questioning whether he has the presence required for the role.
But when asked for his view on the comments, Slot said: “Comparing people with each other is something everyone has the right to do, but is that fair to compare people with each other? We are all different.
“The only thing we have in common, Jurgen and me, is that we both won the league – and that’s not too bad, is it?
“I think the more a manager wins, the more aura he has. That’s in general something.
“I don’t know if you agree with Wayne Rooney by the way, but if this would be the general opinion, then I think people would probably tell you last season I had more aura than this season. But maybe he’s the only one who has this opinion, I don’t know, you tell me. It’s the first time that I heard this.
“But I think it’s fair to say that Jurgen definitely has aura, yeah. I can talk about him, not about myself, but he definitely had that. But a winning manager has an aura as well.”
Arne Slot, whose Liverpool side face Nottingham Forest on Sunday, believes growing media scrutiny makes it far harder for managers to enjoy long tenures like Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola.
“I got this question a few months ago and I was a bit surprised but when I later thought about it, I think it’s harder now because there’s so much being said about football, so much more than 10 years ago,” said the Reds boss.
“The moment you start to lose one or two games now, then there’s much more being spoken about it and much more emphasis on it. So that makes it more difficult. I think the job has become harder because of all the media attention.
“Jurgen did so well, Pep did so well, but the biggest accomplishment is maybe to do this job for 10 years, because it’s hard work, I can tell you. Many people work hard, but it’s also mentally hard.
“Is the power more with the players now than it’s ever been before? I would argue that is true. I don’t think that has changed in football.
“The question is always do owners or the people who decide listen to players if, if, if they are not positive about you. And that’s different in every club.”
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