Liverpool Head coach Arne Slot admitted he tried to influence referees during matches this season, adding that his attempts did not work.
The old Feyenoord The manager has spoken about wanting to create a siege mentality at Anfield in order to encourage officials to give more favorable calls to his team.
“You try to influence as much as you can,” Slot said during a news conference Tuesday. “The mistake I’ve made twice already here, and once or twice in the Netherlands, is sometimes you think that creating an atmosphere that the whole world is against you can lead to positive decisions in end of match.
“But here, until now, in the Chelsea game and the Fulham During the 90 minutes of the match, it remained the same. It’s not as if, after trying to influence things a little, the referee suddenly gave us one or two free kicks.
“No, he just kept the whole match the same. I know it doesn’t work, but sometimes we say, “Can I influence this a little?” But that didn’t help at all.
Slot took over from Jürgen Klopp at Anfield this summer and must serve a sideline ban in Liverpool’s clash against Southampton Wednesday in the Carabao Cup after racking up three bookings so far this season.
The Dutch coach said the disciplinary record was at odds with his usual mannerisms, while adding that he could become emotional during matches.
“You always think but I think in general I’m calm,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s smart to say this, but there’s also a limit for me – let’s put it that way. And then I can get emotional and, unfortunately, that limit is only reached by refereeing decisions or decisions made by my players.
Sipke Hulshoff, Slot’s first assistant, is expected to lead the coaching team on the sidelines for the match against Southampton, who will be looking to bounce back from defeat. 5-0 has Tottenham Hotspur Sunday and fire their head coach Russell Martin.