Programme notesArne Slot: A collective effort has brought us here and we have to maintain it

The Reds extended their 100 per cent record in the Champions League with a 1-0 win away at Girona in midweek, though with a performance the head coach felt fell short of their standards.

Slot’s men return to Premier League duty this afternoon as Fulham visit Anfield, and in his programme notes he stressed the need for continual self-assessment and improvement.

“A lot has happened since we last played at home – we have drawn a tough game away to Newcastle, had the Merseyside derby postponed due to bad weather and then travelled to Girona, where we continued our good results in the Champions League without producing the kind of performance that we know we are capable of,” writes the Dutchman.

“In this respect, Girona was a funny situation. The league table made for really positive reading and the result was another good one, particularly as we also kept our fifth clean sheet in that competition, but at the same time we all knew that we could and should have played better.

“This isn’t being overly critical. It is about us knowing the standards that we have to maintain and not allowing them to drop. The reason for this is simple – we are playing in competitions at home and abroad that have so many quality teams and it does not take much of a drop-off to make life difficult.

“For this reason, it makes sense to always be self-critical and to recognise when improvement is needed because by doing this you can resolve issues before they become a problem.

“Having said this, the bigger picture is that we have put ourselves in a good position in both the Champions League and the Premier League and as we arrive in mid-December we know that the opportunity exists to keep on pushing on.

“This is credit to the players, the staff and the supporters because it has been a collective effort to get here and we will need to maintain this togetherness going forward as there are some big challenges ahead.

“The first one arrives today with a Fulham team which is performing really well again this season. Sometimes teams can go under the radar because the focus is on other clubs for whatever reason and it feels like this has happened with Fulham, who have gone about their business quietly and effectively, picking up some very impressive results and establishing themselves in the top half of the table.

“They showed what they are capable of once again last weekend with a hard-earned draw against a very strong Arsenal team so we definitely know what to expect. I would like to welcome Marco Silva, his players and staff and the Fulham supporters to Anfield for what we expect to be a really competitive game.”

Slot continues: “It goes without saying that the spell we are in is a testing one for all clubs because of the number of games we have in a short space of time, so it is positive that players are starting to return to the squad after periods on the sidelines.

“Federico Chiesa and Diogo Jota have both stepped up training in recent days, Alisson Becker came back into the team in midweek and Harvey Elliott came on during the second half, with James McConnell also being on the bench. Others are continuing with their recovery work at AXA and we look forward to having them back because we will need them.

“Alisson performed like he had never been away in Girona and this is credit to him for the hard work he has put in and also to the staff who have worked with him. At the same time, though, we should not and will not overlook the contribution that was made by Caoimhin Kelleher during the period when Alisson was not available to us.

“The standards he set for himself and the performances he produced for us as a team underline both his quality as a goalkeeper and his high levels of professionalism. It is not an exaggeration in any way to say Caoimhin is one of the reasons why we are in the position that we are in.

“We have two really good goalkeepers who both play to a really high level and as I said at the start of these notes, it is so, so important that we continue to hold ourselves to the highest standards in all positions, on and off the pitch, because this is the only way to keep making progress.”

• Get your copy of the matchday programme at Anfield today or order online here