Switching off could be best way for Reds to remain switched on

WHILE the players themselves were relaxing with a barbecue on the deck of a yacht in the Dubai creek, Arne Slot was being serenaded as a Premier League champion in Ibiza.

- By PAUL GORST

That's how it’s been for Liverpool in recent days as they continue enjoying the fruits of their labour.

Winning a second league title in five years with four games to spare will have that effect and while the clubs in places 17th to second will have been fretting about where they might eventually land with six more points to play for, the party has been under way at Anfield for over a fortnight now.

Slot granted his players some time off between the Chelsea and the Arsenal game with the players not reporting back for duty until Friday, while every-one was also given some further downtime immediately after the 2-2 draw with Mikel Arteta’s Gunners.

Captain Virgil van Dijk simply laughed when he was asked privately if he was Dubai-bound after the game, but the videos of the players enjoying themselves on board the yacht showed a team in full decompression mode as a wildly successful campaign draws to a close.

With eight days between the Arsenal game and the visit to Brighton on Monday, the chance for the players and coaching staff to switch off is a smart tactic from Slot.