Arne Slot appeared to get Mohamed Salah back on side before he left Liverpool for the Africa Cup of Nations, but his long-term future remains uncertain
Mohmed Salah looks on
What Mohamed Salah's future post-AFCON looks like remains to be seen(Image: Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
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Jurgen Klopp's managerial approach would have been far better equipped to handle Mohamed Salah's explosive outburst compared to Arne Slot's methods. That's the view of former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, who highlighted the contrasting styles between Klopp and Slot when it comes to managing players.
Internal discord threatened to further undermine Liverpool's faltering Premier League title defence earlier this month when Salah declared he was "being thrown under the bus" by the club and claimed his relationship with the Dutch boss had completely deteriorated.
The 33-year-old's explosive remarks followed Liverpool's 3-3 stalemate with Leeds - marking the third consecutive league fixture he'd been relegated to the bench, and the second occasion this campaign he remained an unused substitute.
Salah suggested a January departure could be on the horizon, with Slot responding to his outburst by excluding him entirely from the matchday squad for their 1-0 Champions League victory over Inter Milan days later.
A discussion between the duo took place the day before their league encounter with Brighton, resulting in Salah's return to the squad and his first-half introduction following Joe Gomez's injury. He went on to set up Hugo Ekitike's second strike in the Reds' 2-0 triumph.
While the relationship between Salah and Slot appears to have been patched up temporarily, the Egyptian's long-term future at Anfield remains in doubt. Heskey believes Klopp would have navigated this crisis more effectively from the outset due to his superior people skills.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, via Australian Online Casino, the former England frontman said: "Jurgen is more of a communicator with the players and keeps them focused. [He] lets them understand the highs and lows.
Arne Slot watching Mo Salah
The Liverpool legend hasn't started a Premier League game since November
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"It's all about communication. For me, Salah isn't a kid, he's not a Rio Ngumoha or a Trey Nyoni, so I think he deserves an explanation on certain things. I don't think the manager has done anything wrong in the sense of it's up to him whether he wants to play Mo Salah or bench him.
"It's his job that's on the line. But in saying that, [Salah] does need more of an explanation because of what he's done and who he is." Heskey highlighted the nuanced distinction between Klopp and Slot's positions at Liverpool, noting how the German was brought in as a manager whilst the Dutchman has been labelled as a head coach by the club.
Although it's suggested that Slot's duties centre more around training and tactics rather than the man-management that Klopp embraced during his nine-year tenure, Heskey insists it's still down to Slot to initiate dialogue with Salah to repair any rifts.
Jurgen Klopp and Mohamed Salah talking
Emile Heskey said Jurgen Klopp is more of a communicator than Arne Slot
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"He's the leader, he has to," he continued. "There's two points to this, he's a head coach. It doesn't fall under his remit. When I was playing, it was managers. I would say Jurgen was a manager. Now, Arne looks like more of a coach, but because you're the leader of the pack, you probably do need to be the first one who approaches to nip everything in the bud.
"It's one of the most difficult jobs being a manager - fire-fighting everything. 'Is that player okay, is the family okay?' Making sure everything is okay, and this is where Jurgen was fantastic. Arne probably needs to have a little bit of an understanding of that role and the importance of it."
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