Arne Slot has admitted he knew he would have to compete for trophies from the moment he arrived at Liverpool.
The Dutchman can get his hands on his first piece of silverware when the Reds face Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday. Although their chances of a treble were ended by Paris Saint-Germain earlier this week, a double is still well within their sights.
A 15-point lead at the top of the Premier League means a 20th English crown looks assured, but having followed in Jurgen Klopp’s footsteps, Slot is just as eager to defend the last trophy won by his predecessor.
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During his time at Feyenoord, Slot won the Eredivisie title in 2023 before going on to add the Dutch Cup last season. Should he lift the Carabao Cup this weekend, he’ll be well on the way to equaling his haul in the Netherlands already.
“I think expectations are always there, yes, it is a part of this club, part of the history of this club and part of inheriting a quality squad as we have,” Slot said. “Maybe winning it is a bit too much if you talk about expectation but definitely competing for it because winning is always also about small margins.
“But the expectation was definitely there to compete, not immediately my thoughts were winning it but I knew that I had to compete.”
Slot looks as though he will at least claim one trophy in his first season, and ensure that he doesn’t follow in Roy Hodgson and Brendan Rodgers' footsteps - the pair are the only Liverpool bosses not to have claimed any silverware during their time in charge since Bill Shankly’s reign began in 1959.
On the other side at Wembley this weekend, Newcastle will be desperate to end a 70-year wait for a major trophy. As Virgil van Dijk points out though, that doesn’t mean there’s more motivation for the Magpies.
“On their side I think they didn't win a trophy for [70 years] so there's a lot of motivation there,” Van Dijk said. “We obviously want to win so badly as well, because we worked so hard to get where we are and obviously it's the first season together with the new regime and we want to show that we can win trophies with this whole regime.
“I think someone told me as well that people are saying that we're only going just for the league or something, that's what I've heard. These things, you can't stop it.
"It's part of being a football player, having so many platforms nowadays that people can say whatever they want. You just have to shut down a little bit, focus on the task ahead as a team and try to win. So far we've been doing great so I think just keep going.
"Sunday is another big opportunity because it's an opportunity, but it will be difficult because they will be up for it but we will be up for it as well."
