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Liverpool may be enduring a difficult period at present, but Arne Slot possesses the composure to guide them through their current struggles.
That's the view of Dutch football expert Marcel van der Kraan, who has maintained a close relationship with Slot for numerous years. Despite beginning the campaign as formidable defending champions, Liverpool's title challenge now appears vulnerable following five losses in six Premier League matches, most recently a 3-0 reverse against Manchester City.
The Merseysiders have looked fragmented throughout the season, with a £450 million ($590.9M) summer squad reconstruction leaving them short of cohesion and rhythm. Morale has also declined, as evidenced by their subdued display at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
However, Van der Kraan maintains there's no reason for concern - especially as Liverpool's difficulties don't appear to have dented Slot's conviction.
"I am looking at him in every interview and on the touchline to try and discover if there is a change in his behaviour, character or actions... and there isn't the slightest change," he told the Daily Mail.
"He is calm, composed, absolutely not in panic mode, exactly how I know him. And I do not expect him to panic either, or to change. This guy is so confident about what he is doing. This makes me think he will turn it around. I don't have doubts.
"The only managers I know with the same self-confidence are [Yohan] Cruyff and [Pep] Guardiola. I worked [as a football writer] closely with Cruyff in the 1980s and 1990s and could not believe how cool he was under any circumstances.
"It [a rough patch] happened to Cruyff with Ajax and Barca, it happened to Pep and it happened to Arne. Don't forget Arne is a massive fan of the Cruyff school. They just accept these moments, however for Arne it is going on too long of course now. That is what makes it tense. But he won't change a thing."
Slot seemed to adapt to English top-flight football seamlessly. During his debut campaign, Liverpool experienced just a single league loss before April, at which stage the championship was virtually wrapped up.
From the very beginning, he produced outstanding quality and reliability, despite inheriting Jurgen Klopp's considerable legacy, investing merely £10M ($13.1M) on fresh recruits and navigating complicated contractual matters concerning three of his star performers - Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
This renders the present struggles all the more perplexing. Liverpool kicked off the season with five consecutive league triumphs, although four of those victories arrived through late goals, frequently masking underwhelming displays.
Following a string of four successive league defeats, victories against Aston Villa and Real Madrid offered a glimmer of hope, only for a crushing loss to City to send them spiralling back into chaos. Yet, if Van der Kraan's assessment is accurate, this period of instability may not linger for long.
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