Arne Slot predicted Liverpool could win the Premier League providing they corrected the flaws that undermined their title challenge last season, Ibrahima Konaté has revealed.
The Liverpool defender was almost in tears after the club’s record‑equalling 20th league championship on Sunday. He took a moment to sit alone in an empty Main Stand at Anfield long after the 5-1 rout of Tottenham to absorb the size of the achievement.
Konaté cast his mind back to Slot’s debut pre-season. Liverpool had tailed off the title pace in Jürgen Klopp’s final campaign, dropping points in five of their last eight games to slip from first to third. One of Slot’s opening acts as head coach was to show the squad where they went wrong and what needed to change.
“Just before we started the season he showed us why we didn’t win the league the year before, some details, and he said if we change that and improve on that we have a big chance to win the league,” the France international said. “And that’s what we’ve done since the start of the season.
“I saw him on the pitch and he didn’t really want to take the praise; he walked behind us and it’s crazy to be humble like that. OK, we are on the pitch and we run and do everything, but he has done a lot as well for us. Thanks to him, thanks to the fans.”
Konaté, who is the first French player to win the league with Liverpool, said he needed time alone after the game to reflect on the achievement. “I remember when we won the Carabao Cup last season at Wembley, it was amazing, but this one was more special because it’s the Premier League,” he said.
The former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp is "extremely positive" about the club's future after offering his congratulations to the new Premier League champions.
The squad which won a record-equalling 20th league title in Arne Slot's first season was assembled by the German before he left last summer.
After his final game he sang Slot's name on the pitch – something which was reciprocated by the Dutchman in the club's celebrations at Anfield on Sunday - and the pair have kept in contact.
"Super grateful for the past, super, super happy about the present, extremely positive about the future!" Klopp wrote on Instagram. He signed off "Thank you Luv", a reference to the phrase he chose to have printed on the front of his hoodie at his farewell to recognise the saying which made him feel at home during nine years on Merseyside.
Slot has frequently mentioned he was grateful for the quality of the squad bequeathed to him and he explained why he publicly thanked his predecessor following the 5-1 victory against Tottenham.
"Why did I do that? Because of what he did before I even arrived here. That's something not one manager had ever done before," he said. "That is what definitely helped me, but apart from that he helped me even more with the team he left behind and the culture he left behind in that team.
"The quality the players have was obvious for everyone but the culture of hard work, the culture of not only the players but also the staff members, has been incredible. That's one of the reasons we could achieve what we have achieved this season. For obvious reasons, it was a nice moment to thank him as well."
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“After the game I walked into the stadium and just sat in the stand to feel like a fan and I don’t have words to describe what I felt.
“I said to my brother: ‘I want to see how it is to sit in the stand if I watch a game,’ and I tried to act like a fan, but the stadium was empty. I just wanted to enjoy the moment on my own. We won it with 60,000 fans and us on the pitch. I just wanted to feel something different. I was close to crying. It’s crazy, unbelievable, and we have to really enjoy it.
“The last day of the season will be more special as we will lift the trophy. But it’s amazing after four seasons I did it, finally. The first thing is, we are in the best league in the world and we know how hard it is to win the Premier League every season.
“Since I was young, I watched this league every week, every game, and now to win it is crazy. I’m the first French player from Liverpool to lift it. Unbelievable.”
Konaté’s contract is due to expire at the end of next season and he has been in talks for several months over an extension. Paris Saint-Germain have been linked with a move for the Paris-born centre-back.
Asked whether the title victory could hasten an agreement over a new deal at Liverpool, the 25-year-old said: “This is a conversation with the club and we will see.”
Liverpool will celebrate their title triumph with a 15km trophy parade around the city on 26 May. The parade, on the bank holiday Monday after the final game of the season against Crystal Palace, will enable players and fans to celebrate in a way that was denied them by the Covid pandemic in 2020.
Liverpool’s Champions League trophy parade in 2019 drew an estimated crowd of 750,000 and a similar number is expected. Klopp may be in attendance. The parade is scheduled to start at 2.30pm and estimated to last three to five hours.
