In fullArne Slot press conference: Transfers, pre-season, Real Betis and more

The Dutchman answered questions from local and travelling media ahead of Friday's meeting with Real Betis at Acrisure Stadium, the Reds' first game of their pre-season tour of the USA.

Read on for everything he had to say…

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On how it feels to be in the USA and to have time on the training pitch with the players…

Both have felt really good. The time at the AXA was already really pleasant because we have such great facilities over there, but I can say the same about the facilities over here. The temperature is a bit different, though, but it's nice as well. Although yesterday it started raining in the afternoon, so it felt a bit familiar! But the facilities have been good and working with the team as well.

On the importance of Mohamed Salah being able to get a full pre-season…

I think it's important for every player to have a full pre-season but unfortunately that's almost impossible for most of the players in these current times where we play so many Euros and other kinds of tournaments. But I think in an ideal situation, every player wants to have a proper pre-season. Fortunately, Mo has one. Unfortunately, many others don't have it. But it's the way it is these days.

On 'how busy' he expects Liverpool to be in the transfer market this summer…

I think I said before that the first aim is to work with these players. Of course it's a disadvantage that many of them are not here yet, I mean the players that are already under contract. The positive about that is that it's an important lifeline of the club that youngsters come into the team as well, so it's an ideal way of seeing them in these weeks, where they get a lot of playing time as well. The standards are really high when it comes to bringing in new players because we have such a good team and such a good squad. Of course Richard [Hughes] and me and other people as well are trying to improve the squad where possible, but that's not that easy because we have so many good players.

On how confident he is of the club agreeing a new contract with Trent Alexander-Arnold…

My answer would probably be a bit boring… I think it's the same answer you've heard in the last five, six or seven years. Contract situations are not discussed at this place. But just keep trying [to ask the question], I would say.

On how pleased he is with how the players are adapting to his style…

Like you said, many things will stay the same when it comes to playing style. But of course there will be a few adjustments because every manager has his own ideas. But general playing style will probably look quite familiar for you guys. I think every player, especially if they had a few weeks off, they need to adapt to playing with the ball again. Taking that into account, I think we have made some steps compared to where we started. But that has maybe not so much to do with implementing new ideas but also to do with players getting used to playing with the ball again. But I'm very happy with the energy the team is giving every single day, which is normal in pre-season because everywhere around the world you hear the same thing: the players work really hard. But that's also with us. Until now, I've been happy with the way they did and we're looking forward to the game tomorrow to see if we can bring some positives to the game as well.

On whether anyone in the squad has surprised him so far…

I don't think anyone that is an established player surprised me because if you go to one of the best clubs in the world with the best players in the world, I don't think you're surprised in terms of quality. But like I just mentioned, many young players joined us here as well and there are a few that surprised me – in a positive way of course. But if your next question would be who they are, then you are not going to get the answer!

On whether Liverpool not having signed a player so far this summer is more due to wanting to assess the squad or that targets aren't available…

The first one is one of the reasons, me wanting to assess the squad, which is difficult because most of them are still not here. And the second one also has to do with the difficulty [that] if you inherited a team that is really good then it's not so easy to find players that are of the same standards or even higher, especially because those ones need to be available as well. But like I said, Richard more than me is really working hard on that as well and he keeps me updated every time. If there is any news on that, we will come to you. But like I said, we already have a very good team I'm already really happy with. But it would be a surprise for all of us I think if we don't bring any player in, so that will probably happen in the end. But for now, we are just waiting for the players to come back and waiting for the right ones to sign.

On whether he feels the current squad 'is good enough to challenge for the goals set for this season'…

I think the answer lies in last season, where I think five, six, seven games before the end they were still competing with Arsenal and City. So there you have your answer: they are good enough to compete.

On what new coaches John Heitinga and Aaron Briggs bring to the team...

Premier League experience. Both of them have worked in the Premier League – John more recent than Aaron. Both of them, of course, have their own role in our staff. I think I said it before that Aaron is also the one that is going to bridge the gap between the youth academy and the first team. He has an analyst background, so that's a positive thing. And John has played many games in the Premier League and last season he was an assistant coach at West Ham, so he brings experience as a player but also as an assistant in this league. And he worked with someone that I know really well and the two of us have quite a similar playing style, so I think it's not going to take long for him to understand exactly what we want with the players.

On whether he has been in contact with the players still on holiday or if it's important to give them space...

Both. I called them after they went out of every tournament and we had a conversation about the tournament and how last season went and what we expect from them in the upcoming season, in combination with the amount of days they have off. Some of them I have spoken [to] a bit more recently and some of them are just enjoying their holidays.

On the challenge of succeeding Jürgen Klopp...

I think if you go to one of the biggest clubs in the world, there is always pressure. I've already explained in Liverpool that you can look at it two ways. You can be afraid [of] his legacy. But you can also look at the fact that he left behind a team that can win things. I've won a few trophies as well at Feyenoord and I'm hoping that I can do the same over here as well. That's the aim we've got and that's my aim as well.

On whether he prepares for Real Betis or the campaign ahead...

I think it's a bit of both, but it's mostly preparing our team. But I think part of preparing your own team is also preparing them for what they can expect tomorrow – so what kind of press the opponent gives and how we then want to play out from the back, how they want to do build-up and how we have to press them. It's a bit of both. Until now, we've worked mainly on our own ideas and tomorrow we will have a meeting where I'm going to share with them what they can expect from Betis.

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On handling the travel of a pre-season tour...

We have a lot of professionals to make sure that this goes in the best possible way. I think it was two days ago where we travelled in a plane where not everybody will travel in a plane like this! We could rest really well. We have to adjust towards the time zone, of course, but in terms of travelling I think we couldn't be in a better place than we were.

On whether 'it's a good way to start with a tour like this'...

I think it's always important to have a lot of games where you have a lot of resistance. Ideally, you have your complete team, of course, but that's nothing to do if we would have been here or we would have been in Liverpool. In both situations we don't have the complete team available. But if you come over here, you have a lot of strong opponents to play against and I think that also shows you the weakness you have as a team and if you are already competitive enough to start the league in a few weeks. That is one of the advantages of coming over here – that we face three tough opponents.

On how much time he spends studying the players he's inherited and studying the opposition...

I think that changes during the season. At this moment, the full focus is on our own team. All our meetings are, 'What do we have to improve? What can we do better? What do we do really good already?' And then during the season when Ipswich comes up or Brentford or all the other teams then you implement the opponent towards your idea as well. But in football there are a few systems to play against, so it could be 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 5-3-2 but there are not 15 to 20. In these upcoming weeks, we try to prepare them for all the systems you can face during the season in terms of how you want to do build-up and how you want to press those teams. Combined with [that] in this part of the season, it's very important that players stay fit, stay available and go to a next step in terms of match fitness.