Kostas Tsimikas shares Arne Slot's golden rule that changed it all for Liverpool

Daily Mirror

6 hours ago

Arne Slot led Liverpool to Premier League glory in his first season in the dugout and defender Kostas Tsimikas has opened up on what the Dutchman changed after succeeding Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool defender Kostas Tsimikas has opened up on the tactical tweaks put in place by manager Arne Slot in his first season in charge. Slot, who took over from Jurgen Klopp in the summer of 2024, won the Premier League title at the first time of asking.
Defensive solidity was key in the early part of the season. Slot's Reds didn't concede at all until the fourth game of the season, and let in just three goals in their first eight games to open up a lead at the top which they never surrendered.
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"Slot changed the whole tactical approach," Tsimikas told Greek outlet Sport24. "The detail he put into every workout was incredible, in some things that were the A and Z for him.
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"One of them is defence in five seconds. He set a rule, when we lose possession all players must be behind the ball within five seconds
"This instruction, along with his tactical mind, with the new ideas, with the way we would play, all of this together was what we were missing in previous years to win the championship. When you defend with 10 men and a goalkeeper, it's something very important, that was the first thing he told us from day one, that this is exactly what he wants."
Tactics weren't the be all and end all, though. Slot's new ideas helped the team improve on the previous season, when they finished third under Klopp, but the former Feyenoord boss needed his players to be committed to the cause.
"In every meeting we had before the game, he used to say a line that I think is the most important: 'Beyond all the tactics I can show you and tell you how to play, if you don't put your feet up, if you don't really want it, there's no way we're going to win anything,'" Tsimikas added.
Slot isn't resting on his laurels after clinching the title. He has already spoken about the potential for new additions, with Florian Wirtz due to join in a club record deal following the arrivals of Giorgi Mamardashvili and Jeremie Frimpong.
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"I don't know if it's going to be a lot but we know, the club, Richard [Hughes], the ownership, we are all aligned on what we are trying to achieve," Slot told Sky Sports in May. "It is already very, very positive that we kept Mo and Virgil and a few others that we are trying to sign look positive.
"We are very happy with the squad that we have. This club has always shown that if they can strengthen, that's what we do. Big summer or not, it is already big because we won the league."
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