NewsQ&A: Every word from Arne Slot's pre-Brighton press conference

The Reds head coach spoke to reporters at the AXA Training Centre on the eve of the Premier League meeting with the Seagulls.

On whether Mohamed Salah will be involved against Brighton...

I will have a conversation with Mo this morning and the outcome of that conversation determines how it will look tomorrow.

On what he 'needs from Salah to resolve this situation'...

What I need is a conversation with him and I think the next time I speak about Mo should be with him and not in here. You can keep on trying but there is not much more to say about it [other than] that I speak to him today and, like I said, the outcome of that conversation determines how things will look tomorrow.

On whether 'part of the issue is asking him to do more defensively'...

You can try it in multiple ways, but I think I just said that the next time I speak about him should be with him. We've spoken a lot in the last week after the Sunderland game. I think there have been a lot of conversations between his representatives and ours, our representatives and him, between him and me after the Sunderland game – and today I will speak to him again.

On whether he has 'had an apology or needs an apology'...

Same answer again.

On being unbeaten in the last four matches...

Apart from being unbeaten, I think we've shown we have been a team in the last four games that were indeed difficult to beat, that it was difficult to create chances against us. The team worked really hard, put a lot of effort in. [We have] been, again, a bit unlucky in the results but showed great resilience. Four games in 10 days with not a lot of players available is, I think, a compliment to the players that were available, how they managed to get, first of all, some results and, second of all, the work-rate they've put in.

On the impact of Alisson Becker's return...

Every time a player is available again, let alone a player that is as good as he is, that's helpful. But I think Giorgi [Mamardashvili] did a great job as well when he wasn't there. I don't think Giorgi or Alisson have had a lot to do in general in games, because we hardly conceded a chance in most games that we played, not all of them but I think [in] 90 per cent of the games we've hardly conceded a chance. So yeah, it's always helpful when a player of his quality is back. But I want to emphasise on the fact that Giorgi did a good job as well. But it's nice to have him back.

On Liverpool's form at Anfield and whether they are 'finding it difficult to play at home'...

I could completely understand this question if our away form would have been outstanding, but I don't think that's the situation as well. I think we've struggled at home and away from home far too many times than we would like, and there are reasons for that which I think I have spoken about, everybody has spoken about, many times. But [there are] never enough reasons to lose so many times. So I don't see the relation between home games and our results, I see it in all the other things I've said recently why we've dropped points or lost games.

On how Brighton may target Liverpool on Saturday...

Not only I've said it, it's so clear and obvious every time, sometimes I see a photo that some pundits have shown that it's so obvious that if you see the league, I think the league has become much more direct. But then there's the league and then there's Liverpool [and] how teams play against us in terms of how direct they play. That's, I think, a nicer word than a long ball. That's one thing. And I think there have been certain game plans against us that I've seen more and more and more and more as well, which I referred to in the press conference before the Inter game.

I've said multiple times, we have to adapt. Let's take the Sunderland game where we struggled to create a lot of chances and the game after they faced a team that hit a shot from far outside the box and scored a set-piece. These are the ways to unlock a team that's either defending low and hardly gives away anything. The other option is, of course, an individual that just outplays, dominates the one-v-one. That is also something when I looked at the [Manchester] City-Real Madrid game, I saw some great examples of that, one or two individuals that were able to create a lot and another set-piece scored in that game as well.

On what he learned from Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak playing up front with each other at Internazionale...

I think what we all saw – and which is completely normal – the more they will play together, the more they will adapt to each other and the better they will co-operate. I think it's fair to say the other two that were on the pitch, the two No.9s – [Marcus] Thuram and Lautaro Martinez – were more used to playing with each other. But I also saw promising things from the both of them. It's been the second time they've played together for obvious reasons, because match fitness is the obvious reason for that. And I think we will see more of this in the future of them playing together. But Alex also got a knock in the first half, so let's see how he has recovered from that today – if he's able to start tomorrow and, if he's able, I make the decision to start them again together or we do it in a different way.

On the option of playing direct because of the height of Liverpool's forwards...

I don't think height always tells you if a player is perfectly equipped for that style. Sometimes players are really tall but they struggle to win their duels, and sometimes they are less tall but they are really strong when you play the long ball towards them. I think both Alex and Hugo at this moment of time, you can better use them with balls in behind than long balls into their body. Where I can see especially Hugo trying to improve, so if I compare him with was it two months ago when we played Brentford? Where he probably got the first taste of what it means to have a game where you really have to fight for your position. That wasn't a game that was played a lot over the floor. But I see him trying, trying, trying to do this better and better and better. But in that part of his game, there's still room for improvement – as there is for so many parts of our game in general.

• Fitness update: Federico Chiesa, Wataru Endo, Cody Gakpo

On the depth of the squad...

I think it is helpful in the upcoming weeks we don't play as many games as we did until now. I wonder if there have been more teams that have three games in seven days this season. I think we've had to do it three times already this season. What can I say about this? I am almost happy that we're out of the League Cup, because if we had to play with 13 outfield players available with any Premier League experience – we have more available, of course, but not players that have Premier League experience – and we have to go [to] Arsenal away on Tuesday again after already so many games played, maybe, maybe, maybe people can understand a little bit better why I made that line-up against [Crystal] Palace, which wasn't good for me but I did another decision I made for the team.

Losing a game of football is never a good idea and that is what happened when we were not in the best run of form. But sometimes players need rest as well. Look at Dominik [Szoboszlai], look at Virgil [van Dijk], look at Ibou [Konate], look at Ryan [Gravenberch], they have played so many minutes because other ones weren't available. So, it's good for them that we go now to a run of games where there is one week rest in between. And players will come back from injuries and when they are back from injuries there's more to choose from as well.

On who makes the decision on Salah's involvement in the squad…

I think we have decided as a club and I was part of that decision not to take him to the Inter Milan game. I'm always in contact with them, but when it comes to the decision-making of the line-up or the squad, they always leave that open to me. That's not to say I don't talk to them – mainly Richard [Hughes], by the way, not Michael [Edwards]. But I talk to him [Richard] about so many things. But the decision to play a player or to have him in the squad, as I've experienced until now and I think this will never change, is entirely up to me.

On whether he 'wants Salah to stay'...

Like I said, another way of asking it, but the next time I talk about Mo should be with him. I have no reasons not wanting him to stay, if that is a little bit of an answer to your question.

On whether he 'still has a relationship with Salah'...

It's useless asking this question if I have said so many times the same answer.

On whether being unbeaten in four 'provides some justification for his decisions'...

This club has won a lot, a lot of games with him, so that's an answer to your question, I think.

On the benefits of having two weeks in a row without a midweek fixture...

That's normally definitely beneficial because training time helps to get connection going, although playing time helps with this as well. It's also safe to say that some of these players have played so, so, so many minutes that I don't think my performance staff will tell me, 'OK, let's go out in the upcoming two weeks and train twice a day.' I don't think that's what they're going to advise me. So yes, there will be more playing time, so there's more time to prepare for a game, because that is also the difference between us and Brighton; I think they've had five or six days to come up with a game plan, train this, optimise their game plan, and it's the first time after the Inter game we have a session today. If you play in Europe, it's the last thing you should complain about because this is what we want, but it is the reality for us in the last months indeed.