Arne Slot reveals secrets of Liverpool success, how he was inspired by Lance Armstrong and why he turned down Spurs

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After a chat in 2015, Slot said he couldn’t remember an afternoon when he learnt more about football.

Slot has been keen not to be labelled a laptop coach – just as his assistant Sipke Hulshoff rejects the tag of a “computer nerd” – but video analysis forms a key part of his management.

Meanwhile, Feyenoord had taken note as they looked for a long-term replacement for the veteran Dick Advocaat.

Slot, who did not realise AZ knew he had met Feyenoord technical director Frank Arnesen, was fired in a 30-second meeting.

Arnesen went for Slot.

He made took them to an Eredivisie title and a European final, aided by a winning informality.

He felt it is important they saw the coaching staff smiling and enjoying their jobs.

He nonetheless insisted on hard work.

It is an approach that has helped Slot travel from Zwolle Under-14s to Liverpool in little more than a decade.

Meanwhile, Slot has revealed his family were the reason he did not become Tottenham manager and that he would have “loved” to have gone to Spurs when they wanted him in 2023.

The Dutchman had talks with Tottenham in 2023, when he was still at Feyenoord and after they had sacked Antonio Conte and before they appointed Ange Postecoglou.

But Slot ended up getting a new contract and staying at Feyenoord for another year before moving to Liverpool in 2024, where he won the Premier League title last season, as Spurs finished 17th.

The Liverpool head coach says in his biography: “The fact I didn’t go to Spurs was 99 percent a family decision.

We talked a lot and I told my kids it would be great to come and visit me in London during the school holidays, though my daughter said she might want to go do things with her friends sometimes.

“I’d have loved to have gone to Spurs, because who goes straight from Feyenoord to Tottenham, but when Liverpool approached me last season it was very different.”

Slot also revealed that his plan to get even more from Mohamed Salah involved praising him dozens of times before saying anything else.

The Egyptian scored 29 Premier League goals and got a further 18 assists in his first season under Slot, winning the PFA Player of the Year award.

And the Dutchman said: “Of course I’m not stupid.