Arne Slot has admitted he has not enjoyed the past week at Liverpool following Mohamed Salah’s bombshell interview, with the Reds boss keen to avoid “a circus” when the Premier League champions host Brighton on Saturday.
Salah was an unused substitute in last weekend’s 3-3 draw at Leeds United, his third consecutive league game on the bench after starting 53 in a row.
The forward voiced his frustration after the match, accusing the club of “throwing him under the bus” and suggesting his relationship with Slot had broken down.
After being omitted from Tuesday’s Champions League trip to Inter, talks were held between the pair on Friday.
Positive discussions are understood to have taken place, with Salah now expected to return against Brighton in what will be his final appearance before leaving for the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt.
“The biggest factor is [to] do the best for the team and for the club,” Slot said, speaking before his conversation with Salah on Friday afternoon.
“I haven’t said this before but I can say I am definitely not enjoying this situation. It’s not like I’m happy we are in this situation by far.
“We have won the league together and he has done so much for the club. Ideally you are not in a situation like this with your player.
“I am far from enjoying it but I have to make my line-ups doing what is best for the club and for the team, in my opinion.
“That’s not to say that I do so but it is about my opinion. To tell you that I like it, no, I don’t like it and I’m not enjoying it.
“If I can, and it is also good for the team and for the club, I would definitely prefer to [avoid a circus against Brighton] because I don’t think it’s in the interests of the team and the club that we keep having.
“And I don’t think it’s a circus for me, but if it is a circus that is not helpful for anyone. So you try to avoid it as long as you can do what is best for the team.
“If I tell you what my reaction was and what I felt, it would not help us in the current situation. Everything I have done until now is doing what is in the best interest of the club and the team and I don’t think if I tell you what I felt or blah blah that it will help us in the situation.
“I can completely understand why you ask as it is interesting to know but what I’ve tried to do since I’ve been here and for this whole situation is doing what is best for the team and the club in this situation as it is already challenging enough for us without this situation.”
Slot added: “I can understand that is important for you and other people to know but I don’t think that helps us that I go into detail about everything that has happened or will happen.
“I think it is in everyone’s interest, or the interest of the club, that I keep as much detail as I can to myself as these details don’t help us calming the whole situation.”
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