Arne Slot believes Ange Postecoglou has given Tottenham their identity back as the Reds prepare to visit North London in the Premier League on Sunday.
Spurs currently sit 10th after an up-and-down season which has seen them claim impressive wins over the likes of Manchester City, Aston Villa and Manchester United but also lose seven of their 16 league games so far.
Their inconsistency has called some to question Postecoglou’s attacking approach but Slot, whose Liverpool side are currently top of the Premier League, believes the Australian has them going in the right direction.
Ahead of Sunday’s clash, the Reds boss said: “I really have to give them credit, if I look at Tottenham, I come from the Netherlands but I watched a lot of Match of the Day.
“You think of Paul Gascoigne, Glenn Hoddle, Gareth Bale. They have always been a certain brand of football for me and a certain identity and Ange Postecoglou gives them that identity back completely.
“Every time it is a joy to watch them, once in a while the results go against them but I think they are one of the teams to beat City.”
We have been drawn against Spurs in the semi-finals of the @Carabao_Cup 👊 pic.twitter.com/VWgI4rrlRO
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 19, 2024
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Tottenham Carabao Cup draw
Tottenham and Liverpool will face off over two legs in the new year after being paired together in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
On the draw, Slot added: “Interesting game but every draw would have been interesting because, I don’t know if it is always the situation in England, but four top teams are still in the draw so there was not an easy one.”
Slot reiterated his admiration for Postecoglou by insisting he hopes the 59-year-old lands Spurs a long-awaited trophy – but says he hopes that won’t be the Carabao Cup.
He said: “I hope, hope, hope he wins a trophy. Not the League Cup but I am completely a fan of his team for the Europa League.
“People talk about trophies, trophies, trophies and that is so important. For me his brand of football is more important and if he can combine it with winning something that would be so good for football in general because then people can stop talking about ‘is it too attacking?’
“How on earth can you play too much attacking football?”
‘Judge the table after 19 games’
Though they have played one game less than their title rivals, Liverpool’s lead at the summit of the Premier League has been reduced to just two points after being held 2-2 by Fulham last weekend.
And Slot says previous suggestions the Merseysiders were set to run away with the title were premature, claiming they should only be judged when the season has reached the half-way point.
“As I have said for the last three or four months, judge the table after 19 games because then everyone has played the same opponents.
“Probably we had a bit of luck, for example Arsenal had a lot of red cards in the beginning of the season that’s why they dropped points.
“We have now received a red card and we dropped points. We now have Tottenham away which Arsenal had at the beginning of the season, Chelsea already played there.
“Don’t look at it where you were in the season it is about where you are at the end of the season.”
Liverpool team news
Slot says Ibrahima Konate and Connor Bradley remain out for the Reds, saying: “These are the two still in red, so they do not train with us at the moment. They are on their way back but they don’t train with the team yet.
“It is quite difficult [to predict when they will return]. Let’s wait and see but we have a very good rehab personnel over here and they have done good work already with Alisson and a few others.
“The main thing is if they come back they are ready to come back and we must not focus on one, two or three games. It is more important in the long-term they are fit afterwards.”
Slot looks set to have a clean bill of health other than those two, with Andy Robertson returning after injury.
