FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Ipswich Town v Liverpool - Portman Road, Ipswich, Britain - August 17, 2024 Liverpool manager Arne Slot inside the stadium before the match REUTERS/David Klein/File Photo
LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) - Arne Slot will make his first appearance at Anfield as Liverpool manager on Sunday when his team host Brentford, and one game into the Premier League campaign the Dutchman knows he still has plenty to learn about his players.
Liverpool kicked off the Slot era in style with a 2-0 win at Ipswich Town last weekend, their first competitive match without Juergen Klopp at the helm in nine years.
"I'm learning every day about the players as individuals and how they play together," Slot told reporters on Friday.
"I learnt last weekend how the players that didn't play on Saturday trained well on Sunday. They brought in a good training session. That will help them and us. I am still learning new things with the players. It is normal, I have only worked with them for three weeks."
The Dutchman has big shoes to fill in replacing the much-loved Klopp.
"I'm hoping the fans can be twice as loud as the Ipswich fans. I am not nervous at all, certainly not at this moment because I'm in the middle of preparation, prepare the team for Sunday and no nerves," Slot said.
"It wouldn't be a good thing if you have nerves. I trust what me and my staff do to prepare the team in the best possible way."
Slot is expecting a stiff challenge from Brentford, particularly after they signed Liverpool defenders Sepp van den Berg and Fabio Carvalho.
"I think they've brought in talented and good players. Both of them wanted to continue their journey of playing time, It was a good deal for us and Brentford," Slot said. "Hopefully, they don't do too well (against Liverpool).
"(Manager) Thomas Frank is doing a really good job. It's going to be a challenge for us."
Brentford kicked off their campaign with a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Ed Osmond)
