Arne Slot has made the best start to an Anfield career of any manager in Liverpool's history
The Dutchman has won eight of his first nine games in charge
The Reds are set to contest their final game before the international break on Saturday when they travel to Crystal Palace for the 12.30 kick-off.
It was famously Jurgen Klopp's least favourite kick-off time during his glittering Anfield tenure, with the German regularly taking issue with the reduced recovery time it afforded
Saturday represents the first time Slot will have had to oversee that tight turnaround, following Liverpool's Champions League clash with Bologna
the Dutchman's decision to tweak the Reds' training times could stand his squad in good stead at Selhurst Park. "Because we play so many times then at 12.30, people talk about 12.30," Slot said
Slot
"I think we have to talk about an away game and (how) that is difficult, because if 12.30 was a difficult time to perform then I'm a really stupid manager because we train every day at 12 o'clock.
“I don't see the idea behind it being that difficult performing at that time."
As Slot alluded to, he has reversed what was initially an unpopular decision by Jurgen Klopp to push Liverpool's training sessions from the morning into the late afternoon.
“When he first came, one of the first things he changed - normally up to that point our careers, all of us, we just trained in the morning," former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson said of Klopp's change in 2023.
Henderson
"We'd come in for 9.30/10am and train for 11/11.30, whatever. But we were (now) training in afternoons and times when we were playing a night game then we would train later on in the day.
“We wouldn't train at 7.30pm but we'd train closer to that time, getting the body ready for playing at that sort of time, which actually when you think about it sort of makes sense.
“So we started training at four or five o'clock sometimes. You're coming in and you've had a full day."
Henderson added:
“The lads were coming in and they felt a bit lethargic, a bit tired. “Especially at this time of year. Five O'clock you're going out and it's getting dark.
“The floodlights are on and you're just starting to train. The lads pulled me - a few of them - and said 'could we have it earlier?'
“As captain I felt like I needed to at least ask the question, so I thought I will at least have to go and speak to the gaffer.”
"So I went up to him and said 'a few of the lads are struggling with these late training times.
“They feel a bit tired. Is there anyway that we could train in the morning?' He sort of looked at me and said 'Who said that? Who's moaning about it?'
"I thought to myself, I can't be naming people here and chucking people under the bus. So I said 'There's quite a few gaffer and that's why I've come, because they think earlier training [would be better].
"He's (Klopp) just gone 'Well tell them, if anyone's got an issue with training time, come and speak to me directly.'
“I thought 'oof OK, that's the last time I go and ask anything like that again'. I walked out and told that lads you've got no chance, but if you want it that badly, just go and speak to the gaffer yourself. No-one ever went up!"
Liverpool's record in the 12.30 kick-off under Klopp was mixed, with the Reds winning just 21 of the 43 games they contested at that time
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