Ibrahima Konate opens up on Liverpool’s “difficult” campaign under Arne Slot, explaining why the current struggle is actually “part of the success” to come.
Often, the season directly after lifting the Premier League triumphantly is a tricky one.
It’s a rare occurrence that a team goes back-to-back with Premier League honours, and Slot has found that out the hard way this campaign, for sure.
Only Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City have managed this daring feat in modern times, with Liverpool’s defence particularly unconvincing, as they currently sit in fifth position in the table, having lost a dire ten games.
Thankfully, the season isn’t done yet, as the Reds try to save face, with Ibrahima Konate hopefully returning from the international break with France, ready to be a defensive warrior in some challenging games to come.
Yet to sign a new contract, with his current deal expiring at the close of the season, it remains up in the air what Konate’s long-term future holds on Merseyside.
Regardless, he was in a defiant mood on international duty when interviewed on the Reds current form this campaign, as he spoke about the major squad overhaul that happened last summer, and the possibility of a positive future ahead.
Konate’s comments about Liverpool’s difficult season
When speaking to ESPN, the ex-RB Leipzig colossus didn’t hold back whatsoever on his thoughts on the Reds’ misfires this season.
He acknowledged the major squad overhaul that occurred in the off-season – which saw £446m worth of new recruits join – as one key reason as to why Slot and Co. have stumbled throughout the campaign.
He said: “We can say many, many, many, many things.
“People are going to say we bring in new players, (but) many things happened like we lost a player when we started the season. Many things happened to us this season.
“What people will have to understand, and this is my point, before we won the league last season, we had just built the team to win the Premier League at that moment. That’s part of the success, that’s the way to success.
“Now that we have brought in new players, of course they are not going to perform straight (away) from the first game. This is what I have said to many players, we just have to be relaxed as this is part of the success.”
Konate believes the additions of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz will pay off in time, as the number five reminded everyone that Liverpool only qualified for the Europa League at the close of the 2022-23 campaign, before going on to be resounding champions.
He further stated: “When we win the league or the Champions League, people will forget every bad season we had. We won the league last season but two seasons before that we were (qualified) in the Europa League. But people don’t talk about this any more. This is just part of the success.
“We have to be relaxed because we have amazing fans and we have to stay together and the success will come, for sure. Maybe this season or maybe in the future for sure.”
All of these comments really do read like fighting talk from the soon-to-be out-of-contract titan, with a new deal perhaps in the works.
Hopefully, Konate’s prediction of the trophies flowing again at Anfield comes true, as it has been a sobering season for the Dutchman and his players, after a dream first season under Slot’s guidance.
