Hugo Ekitike opens up about how demanding Arne Slot can be

Hugo Ekitike has pinpointed one trait about Arne Slot that he sometimes finds ‘annoying’.

The French striker has had by far the biggest impact so far of Liverpool’s multiple summer signings, with six goals (all scored on different days of the week) making him the Reds’ top scorer for the campaign prior to today’s showdown against Manchester City.

The 23-year-old has quickly won over the Anfield faithful, even when considering his needless red card against Southampton in September, although the man whose opinion matters most of all is significantly harder to please.

Ekitike opens up about Slot’s ‘annoying’ pursuit of perfection

In an interview with Chris Bascombe for The Telegraph, Ekitike spoke of how Slot is constantly demanding more from him in terms of never letting his standards drop.

Liverpool’s number 22 said: “As a player, sometimes you’re [browned off]. It’s annoying but I know he [Slot] wants the best for me and he wants the best for the team. I would say he’s on my back, but not for a bad reason. He just wants to help me, so I don’t take that badly. He wants me to give more and more.

“Sometimes you say that when a coach is on your back that maybe you feel like it’s a little bit too much and you want to complain, but it’s a good thing because, if a coach doesn’t like you, he will not speak to you or not try to get the best of you. I take that in a good way.

“When I look back and watch the discussion we have, it’s only good things and it’s only for me to improve. It’s more about work rate without the ball. Mostly about that, to be more involved and to work more for the team, which I’m trying to do. We’ll get there.”

Only the best is good enough at Liverpool

Many of football’s greatest managers are renowned for their relentless pursuit of perfection and refusal to ever be satisfied, even in the immediate aftermath of a major achievement.

That can even extend to members of coaching staff – the late Ronnie Moran memorably told a young Robbie Fowler after scoring five goals against Fulham in a League Cup tie that he should’ve had seven.

Ekitike is now experiencing something similar with Slot, namely a sense of never being content with what’s been done already and always striving for better.

If the advice from the head coach prompts the Frenchman to become an even better striker than he already is, then who knows just what the 23-year-old could be capable of?

He hasn’t actually scored in the Premier League since the Merseyside derby in September. The Etihad Stadium today would be the ideal setting for him to end that comparative drought, although he knows that behind the scenes, he’d probably still be getting critiqued by his head coach afterwards!

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