Arne Slot insists he has had little choice but to keep tinkering with his title-winning Liverpool side this season, as he defended the level of change within his squad.
The Reds have undergone a major overhaul since lifting a record-equalling 20th league championship last term, with almost £450million spent on summer arrivals while several long-serving players departed.
Their situation has been further complicated by a string of injuries during the opening months of the campaign, as well as a lack of proper pre-season preparation for key players such as £125m British-record signing Alexander Isak, midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, and right-back Conor Bradley.
Liverpool’s inconsistent team selection contributed to a recent run of six defeats in seven games, which increased the pressure on Slot.
However, the Dutchman has since reverted to a more settled side, resulting in back-to-back home victories over Aston Villa in the Premier League and Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Ahead of Sunday’s trip to title rivals Manchester City, Slot, who welcomed Isak back to training on Friday after a two-week layoff with a groin injury, explained his decision to rotate so heavily this season.
“I’m known as being a manager who prefers not to change but I couldn’t do anything different to what I did,” said the Liverpool head coach.
“Then of course we brought new players in and they have to adapt.
“Ryan Gravenberch missed the first two games of the season, (Alexis) Mac Allister was out the whole pre-season, Conor Bradley wasn’t able to play, Jeremie Frimpong wasn’t able to play many games.
“Alexander Isak came in and had to do pre-season inside the season. You could say ‘why do you play him?’, but then he wouldn’t be fit until the end of the season.
“We knew this before when we signed him that it was going to take three to six months until he’s up to his usual level. But if I never play him, I can’t bring him to that level.
“There have been obvious reasons why we’ve had to change more than I would like. Mac Allister as an example, if you miss out on pre-season then you’re not ready to play three games in seven days.
“If you do, you will get injuries, and I can show multiple examples to you – where Alex, by the way, is one – but also from other clubs, which I will not do because then journalists will go to the club and say ‘Arne Slot said something about your players…’!
“But it’s so obvious for me, and I’m a bit more, you can maybe feel it, a bit like ‘Jesus, why don’t you see these things? Why are you talking about me changing?’ when it’s so obvious why.
“Ibou (Konate) and Virgil (van Dijk) I haven’t changed because they play in a position where it’s easier to play so many games.”
Arne Slot added: “It’s not like in the first game of the season I decided not to play Ryan – he became a dad, that’s why I played Curtis (Jones).
“Then in the first Premier League game he was suspended as he made a dive for the first yellow (against Crystal Palace in the last game of last season when Gravenberch was later sent off).
“You know what I want to say now?
“I want to talk about the last game when I saw a dive (from Vinicius Jnr), which 100% should have been a second yellow, which I never hear as well about how many referee decisions have gone against us in the last six or seven weeks, but… now I’ve said that…”
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