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Arne Slot has refuted claims his Liverpool squad is lacking in certain areas, following criticism of his team in recent weeks.
The Reds have endured a torrid run of form, losing six of the last seven matches. A midweek loss to Crystal Palace was a particularly low point for a head coach who has enjoyed immense success since his arrival at Anfield a little under 18 months ago.
But the decision to name a weakened side on Wednesday and select a bench comprised solely of underage players has been heavily scrutinized. Slot defended that choice, stating he is worried about the number of injuries at present, which has currently jumped to six.
He seemed to imply that Manchester City and Chelsea have greater depth than Liverpool, despite the expensive summer outlay on signings. Speaking on Friday, Slot clarified those comments and said he is happy with the current make-up of his squad.
“We miss nothing,” he declared ahead of the weekend Premier League encounter against Aston Villa.
“I am happy that you ask this question. I am completely happy with the team and convinced with the strategy and the policy we have, but the issue is not all of them have had a proper pre-season, or have been injured during the season.
“So then when three or four are injured, you go back to 16 players. I am a firm believer that 20 or 21 players are enough, but then you have to keep them fit as we did last season.
“We are struggling to keep them fitter, for obvious reasons. Alex [Isak] is a great example of this. He came to us on 1 September; a few others have missed out on pre-season, a few others have had injuries in pre-season, so it has been more difficult than last season to keep them available.
“Then a few of them are not available and it comes down a lot to the same players. Maybe last season we were a bit more lucky; maybe this season we are a bit more unlucky.
“No excuses for our results before people say this again, but we had to play a lot of away games with only two days' rest in between. That would have been a difficult schedule for every player last season.
“I mean that for a player who has been fit all through pre-season. That has not been our situation.
“Then you have to manage it, the upcoming week is again three in seven or eight days.
“That is nothing to do with squad depth, it has to do with how you get through the season in terms of injuries, availability and players ability to play every game.”
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