Arne Slot made sure to praise Milos Kerkez ahead of the ever-improving Liverpool left-back's return to his former club Bournemouth
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 17: Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool brings on Milos Kerkez of Liverpool during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD1 match between Liverpool FC and Atletico de Madrid at Anfield on September 17, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
Arne Slot brings on Milos Kerkez during the Champions League match between Liverpool and Atletico Madrid at Anfield on September 17, 2025(Image: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
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Milos Kerkez had already caught the eye with his performances for Liverpool this week when he commanded attention off the pitch. And it served to highlight the driving force behind his recent improvement with the Reds.
Kerkez was talking on social media after an impressive showing in the 3-0 Champions League win at Marseille on Wednesday evening when he addressed an apology from one perennial naysayer.
That the Hungarian shared "critics give me even more fuel" would suggest he had been provided plentiful power during the first few following his £40million summer move from Bournemouth, such were the regularly brutal appraisals of his contribution.
Kerkez, though, has been among a group of new signings to have stepped up to cement the foundation of Liverpool's ongoing 13-game unbeaten run.
And as the left-back prepares for his first return to his former club at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday evening, Arne Slot believes that the 22-year-old has emerged from such a baptism of fire is testament to his strength of character.
"I have a lot of respect for these players," said the Liverpool boss. "For Milos, for example, he had to adjust to the Premier League and to add the Champions League to that. If you lose more games than everyone would have expected us to lose, criticism comes with that.
"And then you have to stay fit. You also have to adapt to new standards. I’m not sure if there has been research but usually when a team doesn’t do so well, there are a lot of injuries.
"We don’t have a lot of injuries. I talk about that I have to adapt but that is not because I have a lot. We only have three long-term injuries but the rest are almost constantly fit (touch wood). They have had a period where things have gone against them individually and collectively.
"It tells me a lot about the work they put in, the quality of the coaching staff, but also the mentality of the players and Milos is a great example of that."
Kerkez was one of seven big-money arrivals in the summer with the same number of first-team squad regulars - the majority of which were integral to Liverpool lifting the title last season - exiting.
Indeed, when the Reds began with a 4-2 win over Bournemouth in August, they became the first defending champions to field four league debutants in the opening game of the following season, with Kerkez among them.
And Slot accepts there was always a suspicion the largely necessary overhaul of the squad meant this could prove a campaign of transition for the Reds, who are 14 points behind leaders Arsenal and are just a point clear of the chasing pack in fourth place.
"Everyone at the club was aware of this," he said. "If you make changes, transition can be a part of that. But after the first six games, we had a different idea.
"But looking where we are now, I don’t think anyone sees it as a surprise that we needed a bit of time to adjust. I have said this 150 times, I feel as if I say it every day: some players needed time to adjust.
"Giovanni Leoni was injured straight away. We had 10 minutes of the Alex (Isak) we thought we were getting at Tottenham. That was the first time we had seen him – then he was out.
"If you take that all into account, if I have to use one word for this season then it is 'adaptation'. Every single time, it feels like something happens -'s***, I haven’t got a full-back!' or 'who am I going to play there?' or 'we don’t have a winger' – it is a constant adaptation to things we have had during the season.
"This club makes signings that are mostly young and you know the best is still to come. They are young but they are also very good. If you sign the same player aged 27, then he is cheaper."
Slot has had to cope with a number of different challenges compared to his successful debut campaign, and regards man-management as the most important attribute of his role.
"I have tried to show the players individually and as a team that results are always the most important thing in football and what we need to improve to get those results as well," he said.
"But I have showed that the performances have been much better than the outside world (thinks). That is not to say there are not things that we have to improve.
"But that was the same last season as well. Maybe last season you show more the things that don’t go well.
"Both situations take a lot of man-management. People think that when you win it is easy - you just come in, walk to your office, walk to the pitch and things are done.
"No. There is a lot to do then as well because as we all know players can get over-confident. Man-management is always one of the main things. People think about tactics but man-management is the one that is by far (the most important)."