New Liverpool boss Arne Slot insists he is relishing the daunting challenge of replacing Jurgen Klopp and hails the club's 'winning culture' in first press conference since arriving at Anfield

Arne Slot is not expecting a huge upheaval at Liverpool this season after taking over as head coach – and the Dutchman says he has inherited a stellar squad with a winning culture already in place.

The new Liverpool boss faced the media for the first time since taking over from Jurgen Klopp on Friday morning, with eight Reds players reporting for pre-season training. And Slot says he is lucky to have a team that does not need much surgery.

Asked if there was trepidation after moving into Klopp’s former hot-seat, Slot said: ‘Not at all actually. You can look at it both ways. They are big shoes to fill but you can look at it as inheriting a squad and a team which has a winning culture.

‘One of the reasons to come here – and there are always more reasons for this – but I do feel we have a really good squad and as a manager you want to work at a club with good players with an opportunity to win something.

‘The past has shown there is a possibility to win some trophies. I look at it as ideal because there is an opportunity to win something. I like to work with players and like to develop them but I like to win as well and at this club there is an opportunity to win.’

A packed auditorium at the AXA Training Centre saw Slot flanked by fellow new arrival, sporting director Richard Hughes, while his right-hand men Sipke Hulshoff and Ruben Peeters were sat on the back row with the Dutchman’s entourage, including super-agent Rafaela Pimenta.

Pushed further on potential signings in the transfer window, Slot added: ‘For me it is clear we have inherited a good team. There were a few changes last season already. The way I look at football, I can see during the Euros how important it is to work with players on a daily basis.

‘You see many really good players, not all of them have the same level at the clubs, so that proves my point how important it is to work on a daily basis with your players and get the best out of them.

‘That is something we are going to do. There is already a really good team, there were a few new signings last season so the longer a team plays together if there is a good head coach normally you will see things will improve.’

Slot was asked about how he plays a 4-2-3-1 formation but shot that down and insisted his system is fluid. ‘I’m a bit sad, maybe not the right word, but I was hoping if people look at my team, they will not say it’s 4-2-3-1 or it’s 4-3-3 or whatever formation you want to call it,’ he said.

‘I was hoping they would say there is a lot of freedom when they have the ball to take in different positions. So sometimes it’s a 4-2-3-1, sometimes it’s a 4-1-4-1, sometimes we do build up with three. There is a lot of freedom when we have the ball.

‘But if we don’t have the ball, then there’s not so much freedom. Then we want to be really aggressive and there’s only one way and that’s everybody mostly keeps his position. There’s a lot of players taking in a lot of different positions.

‘I’m curious who told you we played 4-2-3-1? Maybe that one should go and get his (coaching) licence or analyse a bit better!’