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Beth Lindop
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has said it is “impossible to measure” the impact of Diogo Jota’s death on his team but insists he would never want the tragedy to be used as an excuse for the club’s recent poor form.
Liverpool defender Andy Robertson admitted this week he had been “in bits” over Jota’s passing in the build-up to Scotland’s 4-2 win over Denmark which sealed their qualification for next year’s World Cup.
The 31-year-old’s emotional interview has prompted discussion over how much Liverpool’s disappointing run of results should be attributed to the effects of grief.
Asked whether he feels his team have been fairly judged this season, Slot said: “We are always judged, sometimes fair, sometimes not fair. But I saw the interview live and I know that it is an issue for us, which is completely normal.
“At this moment in time, I always think how must it feel for his wife and his children?
“Because it is so, so, so much harder for them than it is for us. But that we will miss the player and the person is completely clear. Now we play Nottingham Forest, last season there we were 1-0 down and it only took him [Jota] one minute to score the equaliser.
“So now I am talking about the player that we miss for sure. That we also miss him as a person is also clear.”
The Dutchman added: “It is good for us to remember him at all times. It is possible because of the person and player he was. It is impossible to measure what it does to the players and to our results. The last thing I would do is use it as an excuse.
“I don’t know. What I do know is that we miss the player, that is 100% sure, and we miss the person, but I cannot measure the impact that has on our results. That is impossible for me to say, and we will never use it as an excuse.”
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Liverpool have lost seven of their last 10 games in all competitions but will hope to bounce back when they welcome Nottingham Forest to Anfield on Saturday. However, the Premier League champions will be without Florian Wirtz and Conor Bradley, who both sustained injuries while on international duty.
“Andy Robertson didn’t train yet but he will be with us today,” Slot said.
“Alisson [Becker] trained last week and this week so he will be able to play tomorrow if things work out well today.
“If he’s ready to play, he will start. But we do have some issues after the international break, unfortunately. Conor Bradley is not able to play and Florian Wirtz is not able to play. That’s far from ideal.”