Interview'A day that will live forever in my memory' - Arne Slot reflects on Anfield title celebrations

The Reds became champions with four games of the season to spare by beating Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 amid an astounding, carnival-like atmosphere at Anfield last month.

• How Liverpool's Premier League title win was an actual seismic event

Slot therefore delivered the club’s 20th top-flight crown in his first campaign in charge and, having had a few weeks to process the achievement, described his memories of an unforgettable day in L4.

The head coach told Liverpoolfc.com: “Two things make me emotional when I look back at that day and the first one is when we arrived at the stadium and all the fans were singing, ‘We’re gonna win the league, we’re gonna win the league and now you’re gonna believe us.’

“It’s not what they sung but it was more how passionately they sung it. That was so, so, so impressive and all of them, it came from deep down inside. It makes me a little bit emotional at this moment, not that I’m going to cry but every time I think about it, it makes me emotional.

“And the second thing that makes me really emotional is the amount of people that told me, ‘I’m going for 45 years to Liverpool, 40 years or all my life to Liverpool but I’ve never experienced Anfield or a special moment like this.’

“[This] is what does make me emotional because I’m not here at the club the only one [to win] for the first time a trophy in 35 years.

“No, this club has had so much success over the course of its whole history and then for people to say that this was one of their special moments and be part of it as a manager… every time someone says to me things like this then I’m like, ‘We really did something special.’

“And yeah, apart from that, the whole stadium celebrating. What makes me emotional is these two things. What makes me really happy looking back at it is the songs that were played – great compliment to the DJ – and to the fans that stayed away from the pitch.

“It was an incredible day and a day that will live forever in my memory.”

During the joyous post-match scenes, Slot – joined by members of his coaching team – celebrated by producing some Jürgen Klopp-esque fist-pumps towards the Kop.

“I always felt that the fans were waiting for a moment like this and I always thought, ‘Don’t do it too early, wait for the final moment when we won it and then it could be a nice interaction with the fans,’” he recalled.

“Because this is what Jürgen of course always did. I don’t want to copy Jürgen during the season, but I thought this is a nice moment to do this. And I didn’t do it by myself, my staff were there as well and I think it was a special moment for all four of us.”

The moment felt natural thanks to the fact Slot’s bond with the Reds’ fan base has strengthened throughout the season.

“Yeah, yeah, the team [has created a connection too],” he added.

“But I think if I measured it by the amount of times that they sing my name then I think it’s fair to say that they’re not unhappy with me! And I felt from the start, from the people here in Liverpool and the people here in this building [the AXA Training Centre], I felt so welcome.

“I think Jürgen was a big help in this probably as well for what he did in his last game. But from the first time I arrived here and the first time I arrived at Anfield, I immediately felt that everyone was positive.

“Everybody gave me a warm welcome and they backed the team. They helped the team as they’ve done in their complete history. But they kept doing this when I was the manager as well, which was helpful.

“So yeah, I felt very welcome by everyone from the start until now and hopefully this can continue for a long period of time.”

Indeed, the supporters’ love for the boss has been showcased proudly with the advent of a new song in his honour.

“Yeah, I heard it for the first time very loud and long and often at Stamford Bridge when we played Chelsea,” Slot said.

“It’s a song that’s really popular in Holland as well – maybe that’s not even a coincidence because these fans always come up with special songs. I don’t think there are many clubs that have so many special songs, I think we stand out in that as well, our fans stand out in that as well.

“So to have one is already special, to have one that’s so connected with Holland makes it even more special because if you see clips from when the Dutch national team is playing, it’s always from left to the right and it’s the same melody that our fans use now as well.

“So, yeah, to bring number 20, as part of being the one that brought number 20, is special and to have a song – especially then a song that’s about bringing in a 20th league title – is definitely very special.

“It’s very nice. Everywhere I went for the first 10 months it was always ‘Arne Slot, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah’ because that’s what Jürgen did. And now when I’m somewhere they start to sing this [new] song.”