It was a strange one how it went down in the end. Lots of people were calling for Slot to be sacked early on. Probably more again were wanting to wait and see, as a league title puts a lot of credit in the bank. That’s where I was for a long time.
But at some point it became so obvious that it felt like a change simply had to be made. But then the owners didn’t do it! And it dragged on a bit.
Mascot gave Slot the benefit of the doubt for a long time, which to my mind was laudable. My memory of it toward the end was that Mascot was saying that we should not be so wrapped up in a certain outcome that Slot would be replaced, because it felt like the owners were going to keep him on.
Then all of a sudden, presumably after an internal review/debate - we don’t know the details of how that went down, but we do know the outcome, and when the hammer fell, it was swift.
Slot hasn’t spoken about us since (unless he did a courteous short statement on leaving) which tells me we were watertight with his pay-off coming with the requirement to keep quiet.
All that’s now water under the bridge, but I got a laugh at the PTSD comment
Absolutely right, putting aside the fact that he is Mascot’s love child…He has his rightful place in our history but it was right to move him on. No further disrespect needed.
We are not disrespecting him, we are just saying, it didn’t work out for him.the way it should have. We are very grateful we got the 20th title from him.
Arne Slot confirms that he has spoken to the KNVB about the position of head coach of the Netherlands national team, but denies that he withdrew from the talks following protracted negotiations over salary and contract length. According to the manager, it never reached that stage.
‘Over the past few weeks, and particularly in recent days, various reports have appeared regarding the vacancy with the Netherlands national team, suggesting that I had withdrawn from the process following protracted negotiations, including on salary and the duration of the contract,’ Slot said. ‘That speculation is incorrect. We simply never reached that stage in the discussions.’
Slot does confirm that there has been contact with the KNVB. According to him, this was limited to a brief exploratory phase. ‘That’s only to be expected when you’re approached for an important position and want to get a better idea of the role and what’s expected of you.’
Slot soon came to the conclusion that his future does not lie with a national team for the time being. Within a week of the initial meeting, he informed the KNVB that he wished to continue in club football. That decision is primarily down to the way in which Slot currently wishes to shape his coaching career. ‘At this stage of my career, I’d prefer to be out on the training pitch with my players every day. That’s simply not possible in the same way with a national team.’
According to Slot, that is also the only reason why the process with the KNVB was brought to an end. ‘And why I chose not to continue the discussions and not to enter into negotiations on what a potential contract might look like.’
Slot emphasises that his dealings with the football association went well. ‘I have enormous respect for the national team and for the KNVB, and I can only speak positively about the professional manner in which the discussions took place that week. For now, I believe that club football still has a lot to offer me.’
With that, Slot is not closing the door on the Dutch national team for good. ‘It would be a great honour to represent my country as national team manager one day. It just wasn’t the right time for me.’
