Ibrahima Konate Units the Tone for Liverpool’s Title Defence below Arne Slot
There isn’t a room for complacency at Liverpool, not when you’re champions of England. Ibrahima Konate has made that completely clear in the course of the Reds’ pre-season tour of Asia. The French centre-back is below no illusions in regards to the problem forward, insisting that the exhausting work should begin now if Arne Slot’s aspect are to construct on final season’s title-winning marketing campaign.
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Talking after an intense coaching session in Tokyo, Konate shared the mentality driving the squad: “Final season we got here again with a brand new supervisor and he had an excellent concept and he stated earlier than the season began what we have now to do to win the Premier League. We simply adopted what he stated and on the finish we had a very good end result for the membership. I feel this season will probably be harder.”
There’s no sugar-coating it. Defending a title within the Premier League requires greater than momentum. It calls for grit, focus and unity. “We had been champions final season and it’s completed now, we have now to go once more and attempt to do one thing even higher than final season. That’s why the pre-season is essential,” he stated.
Photograph: IMAGO
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Onerous Work within the Warmth
The Liverpool squad are pushing via gruelling periods in Japan’s sweltering warmth, with a transparent intention in thoughts: readiness. Each drop of sweat on the coaching pitch is an funding in August and past.
“For certain, we will see [that] within the coaching movies that everybody can see,” stated Konate. “However I feel this is excellent for us and we want that. We have to prepare very exhausting for this season as a result of I feel each workforce desires to beat us – and we need to defend our trophy from final season as nicely.”
It’s not about glamour. It’s about groundwork. Below Slot, Liverpool have rediscovered an edge and Konate, a determine of each energy and assurance, is central to that mission.
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Welcoming New Faces
With Hugo Ekitike becoming a member of the Reds from Eintracht Frankfurt, Konate has stepped as much as assist the newcomer discover his toes. It’s a part of the accountability that comes with expertise, and it’s one he embraces totally.
“Sure, sure, sure, for certain,” he stated. “That is regular if you’re older than somebody who involves the membership, for certain you need to take care of him. Assist him to adapt if he wants something within the metropolis or within the membership, simply to be there for him. That’s what I’m doing with him.”
But it surely’s not nearly one participant. “We introduced in some nice gamers to this workforce however I don’t need to put some stress on them,” Konate added. “We simply have to provide them the time to adapt as a result of they don’t know the Premier League now. However I’m certain with this workforce, with how the individuals within the workforce are round them, this adaptation will probably be straightforward for certain.”
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Mindset over Recollections
For all the enjoyment of lifting the Premier League trophy in Could, Konate and Liverpool are firmly targeted on what lies forward. Slot’s affect has reshaped the membership’s identification, bringing a contemporary imaginative and prescient and starvation for extra. And Konate, now getting into his fifth season at Anfield, carries the voice of a participant who understands that sustained success is solid lengthy earlier than the opening whistle of the marketing campaign.