With 12 games to go in the 2025-26 season, Arne Slot says his team is finally fit enough…
The fact that Liverpool, by their own manager’s admission, spent the majority of the season below the required fitness standards is alarming.
Slot admitted today that Liverpool are finally fit enough to carry out his pressing game plan.
More alarming is that the more time a player spends on the bench, the more unfit they are likely to be.
Alexis Mac Allister, a player who has spent more time on the bench than the likes of Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai, is more likely to be unfit due to a new revelation.
Alexis Mac Allister fitness discussion in Arne Slot press conference leaves more questions than answers
Speaking to the press ahead of the trip to face Nottingham Forest, Slot attempted to explain Mac Allister’s form this season, but his response left more questions than answers.
Slot said: “I think it’s always a combination of factors, but fitness is a very important one. I think the moment a player starts to play more and more games, he gets fitter and fitter.”
“He’s not the only example of that, Szoboszlai is an example of that. After two-and-a-half years, you cannot compare him any more with the player of two-and-a-half years ago. Mainly the focus is on Hugo and Florian and the new ones, but Dom had the same trajectory.
“The second thing is if you bring in a few new players and a few leave, then you need new connections in the team so that takes a bit of time before everyone is ready, especially if you cannot constantly play with the same team for the reasons I’ve explained many times. “
“They were not fit enough to play every single time, every three days. So that takes then a little bit of time, and if you score a set-piece against Sunderland, then the last half-hour feels nicer than if you concede against Nottingham Forest after half an hour.”
Mac Allister might be struggling from Arne Slot’s emphasis on less intensive training sessions
During the Jurgen Klopp era, Mac Allister was one of the most important Liverpool players. Even then, he was not renowned for his physical attributes, but rather relied on his reading of the game to intervene in defensive transitions.
Under Slot, with more space between attack and midfield, the Argentine has to close more space to impact opposition counter-attacks.
Therefore, coupled with his poor fitness this season, it shouldn’t be surprising to see him struggling to influence Liverpool’s results.
The reason why this is happening could have something to do with Arne Slot’s emphasis on reducing workload in training sessions to below match intensity.
Arne Slot on Alexis Mac Allister’s form and the difficulty in building new partnerships:
"I think it's always a combination of factors, but fitness is a very important one. I think the moment a player starts to play more and more games, he gets fitter and fitter." pic.twitter.com/dayJQI6tz6
— Liverpool Xtra (@LiverpoolXtraa) February 21, 2026
According to Simon Brundish, who appeared on the Anfield Index podcast, Liverpool are hurting themselves with this approach.
He said: “The hardest thing they do is the game. Unlike the previous regime, where training loads could exceed match intensity, the current structure matches training to game demands.
“The premise of this is ruined if we have injuries. If players miss matches, there is no equivalent training stimulus to rebuild match fitness.
“How do they get their fitness up to match their fitness because the most intense day is matches and they haven’t played any?”