Every word Arne Slot said on Alexander Isak return, Jeremie Frimpong injury, and Nottingham Forest

Every word Arne Slot said on a return for Alexander Isak, Jeremie Frimpong's recovery from injury, and much more ahead of the Premier League trip to Nottingham Forest

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot.(Image: Charlotte Wilson/Offside via Getty Images)

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot is yet to beat Nottingham Forest, losing twice against the East Midlands side and drawing once. But as the race for the Champions League heats up, the Reds could do with ending that drought.

Ahead of the trip to the City Ground, Slot spoke to reporters this morning. This is every word that the Liverpool boss said, including the latest on the likes of Jeremie Frimpong and Alexander Isak.

Injury latest: "Jeremie will not be involved this weekend yet. We hope he will be involved next week [against West Ham] if things go as planned. Wata [Endo] will be out for a long time, as I said earlier. We don't know exactly how long — but long."

Alexander Isak return: "Alex has been on the pitch now not with his football shoes but his running shoes for the first time. That will still take a while before he is ready to play for us again.

"It's not before they go on the pitch, they are just lying in bed 24 hours a day. They also come in and do gym work but, it's nice for him to go on the pitch and nice for us to see him there.

"You do know as a player, then you're in your final stages of rehab. The next step is of course doing work with the ball, which every player likes the most, and then going into the group.

"It takes a while before you're ready to play but it's nice that the rehab has gone well. It is a compliment to him and our medical staff.

"[Pre-season] will give us a different player to we had now but we're expecting a different player at the end of this season compared to the one we had in the first part.

Alexander Isak is working his way back to fitness with Liverpool(Image: Paul Currie/Shutterstock)

"It makes sense, because I have said 100 times I think that if a player has been out for four or five months, then you cannot expect, with the level we are playing here, he is up to speed straight away.

"Unfortunately for him and us, we haven't used the best Alex yet. But we will see it hopefully before the end of the season and for sure in the upcoming years."

Set-piece improvement: "I'm happy that you asked that question because it would be very unfair to Aaron, who was was partly responsible [for set-pieces], but in the end, I'm responsible for everything.

"We were in that period of time so unlucky. We all knew that it couldn't go on like that. We hardly gave away any chances but every ball went in and we created multiple opportunities to score and the ball didn't go in.

"That things have gone back to normal now is what we expected. In general, we didn't change that much; maybe some slight changes. But things just went back to normal.

"Lewis [Mahoney] does the main work and we have a meeting together to check the details.

Arne Slot during a Liverpool training session.(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

"In the Champions League, when Aaron was with us, we were already number one in set-pieces. So I would maybe say things have gone back to normal and we adjusted small things.

"At the moment, we are happy with way things are, but as it is with players, we are always looking if we can strengthen the staff or the squad. We always keep our eyes open, but we don't expect any change today or tomorrow."

Why Giorgi Mamardashvili didn't play against Brighton: "Last season, we made a different choice in the FA Cup, that’s true. Usually, for me, the league cup is for the ‘second choice’ goalkeeper, and in the FA Cup I just decide at the moment.

"The first game he played because Ali came back from an injury and I think Giorgi needed the game, and maybe it was a bit too much for Ali at that moment of time to play another game.

"I judge it the same way as I judge the other 10 players, on what is best for the team and the individual. In this situation, I decided to play Ali again.

Giorgi Mamardashvili was left on the bench as Alisson Becker started in the FA Cup for Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)

"It was of course a disappointment for Giorgi because he is a very good goalkeeper and has done really well for us when had to come in for Ali when he was injured.

"But I think you could see from my line-up that I mainly played the starters and that also means I also played the starter in goal. How that will look in the next game, I cannot tell you now."

On Vinicius Jr reporting racist abuse in the Champions League: "In general, you can never do enough. You can always do more to make sure this never happens again.

"We have to try as a football community to do more than society does. That's maybe not so difficult, by the way. Protocol was followed in the game, that's the first step. I would hope my players would act in a similar way - immediately address it, and the referee acts in a similar way (to Tuesday)."

Better Liverpool form lately: "Compared to a few weeks ago, I don't think a lot has changed. In the last 19 games, we have lost twice, both in extra time, and we didn't deserve to lose those games.

"We didn't need yesterday to know how difficult it is to win a Premier League game. What has made the Premier League nicer this season than four, five, six years ago is it's more competitive.

"We have improved compared to three, four months ago. We are in a much better place than months ago. There are more reasons, but the most simple two are how fit we are and that we are much better at set-pieces at the moment."

On facing Nottingham Forest: "Back then (for the reverse fixture), it was Sean Dyche's third or fourth game. That makes it a little bit more difficult. We only have tonight to see if this new manager changes personnel.

"The good thing is they have that game, and the manager was in the Premier League last season. It's been a difficult game for us at the beginning of the season; first half-hour was very good from us, chance after chance, then we conceded from a set-piece, and the game went in a completely different way."

Dominik Szoboszlai form: "He played a good game in midfield, the week before he played a very good game at right-back and week before a good game in another position. I have to find the best position to play him."