In the second round of the Premier League, Liverpool will face Nottingham Forest at home. Before the match, Liverpool manager Arne Slot attended a press conference to answer media questions. The following is the third part of the conference.

Andoni, it's clear that reinforcing the wing positions has been a priority for the team this summer. Is this all the transfers you expect to complete, or are there other positions you'd ideally like to strengthen before the transfer deadline?

The word "ideal" is key here. Ideal is a wonderful word, isn't it? But the reality is, there are some things we can do, and some things we're uncertain about. That said, strengthening the wings is undoubtedly our top priority. With only four or five days left in the transfer window, I'm confident we'll do everything we can to improve other positions if possible. But I can't predict how the transfer market will close, so I can't give you a definitive answer. I have to be as patient as you do. Believe me, this uncertainty is uncomfortable for me—you're constantly dealing with unknowns. We just need to wait another four or five days, and then we'll know what players we have and can devise targeted tactical plans.

Andoni, are you surprised by how extreme the external reaction has been to the midfield problems against Newcastle in the last match? This is early in your coaching career here, yet people seem to have concluded that this midfield setup and these players cannot work. Does that surprise you?

Not surprised. When I arrived, I already expected that everything here would be magnified—for better or worse. I'm beginning to understand how things work here. But it was just one game. In that match, I thought we did many very good things. Even those midfielders showed good performances. Of course, we need to improve in many areas, as we discussed earlier. But I have no doubt they're all excellent top-level players. The key now is how I, my coaching staff, and the players can maximize our midfielders' potential, because individually, each one is an outstanding player.

Are you also surprised everyone is so focused on those two midfielders, when essentially this is a tactical system all 11 players need to gradually adapt to?

Yes, but that's football. Ultimately, everyone focuses on goals conceded and the final result. If you make the same mistake—exactly the same mistake—but if Elanga hadn't scored at the end, people might be discussing something else entirely. When we concede two goals on defensive transitions, it's natural to analyze the defensive problems, and I understand why everyone is focusing on it. I think we were actually constantly improving during that match, and our defensive transition performance in the second half was much better than the first, because our positioning was more organized. The first goal we conceded was more concerning than the second, because our positioning when we lost the ball was problematic. I hope we can continue to improve and have less discussion about this going forward. But I fully understand—this was our first official match of the season, and because we didn't win due to these defensive transition mistakes, everyone is talking about them, which is completely normal.

Andoni, I know this is only the first league match. Last weekend you mentioned finding the right balance. Regarding midfielders' defensive responsibilities, if you need to give them specific instructions, will there be different triggering mechanisms among them so they can anticipate who should push forward and who should stay back, since they can't all go forward at once?

It depends on the situation in other positions, on who we sign, and who leaves. You have to look at the bigger picture, not just one position or another. We've known our needs from the start. On my first day here, I told you the priority was the winger position—we lost our key player Salah from last season, and some players are dealing with long-term injuries, which may create personnel shortages in certain areas. These have always been our core problems. But if we can also improve in other positions, we'll definitely try our best.

Andoni, how impressed were you by Jaqueta's Premier League debut last week? How do you view his partnership with Van Dijk this season?

I thought he played very well overall. Considering it was his first official match and he'd only played about 45 minutes in preseason, he showed real quality. He was clearly tired by the end, which is why we substituted him—I could see fatigue in his final five minutes on the pitch, which is especially noticeable for a center-back. But he was very confident on the ball and defended well without it. He's very young and a new signing, so he'll make mistakes, and we have to accept that. But he followed my instructions very well and worked hard in training.

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