The Liverpool head coach spoke about the importance of the duo despite a lack of football recently
Arne Slot has backed Diogo Jota and Wataru Endo to both play a big part for Liverpool during the rest of the season. The Portuguese made his first Premier League start since October in the Reds’ win over Wolves on Sunday, having been troubled by injury in recent months.
In contrast, the Japan international has been a virtual ever-present in Liverpool matchday squads this season, but has been limited to 21 appearances. The midfielder has only featured for 99 minutes across 11 appearances in the Premier League, having failed to start a game in the English top-flight under Slot.
However, that has not stopped him from making an impact, with Endo playing a vital role off the bench to help the Reds hang on for all three points in their narrow victory over Wolves.
Both players are set to be included in Liverpool’s matchday squad for Wednesday’s trip to Aston Villa as the Reds look to move 10 points clear at the top of the table.
And revealing that Jota is poised for a prominent role in Liverpool’s upcoming clashes against Villa, Man City and Newcastle United, Slot conceded that the Reds had missed the forward in recent months.
(He can play) a role like many others. He did so well before his injury,” he said. “I couldn’t even remember when his last start was for us in the Premier League.
“We have missed him for three or four months when it comes to a start. Chelsea was a long way back.
“We have missed our number nine that played in the first seven or eight games, every single game almost for three or four months.
“But now he is back and he played 60 (minutes). With these amount of games we play now, you don’t expect him to play 90, 90, 90 in the upcoming three.
“But he will be involved hopefully in all the three games. And hopefully with a lot of minutes as well.”
Meanwhile, Slot praised Endo for always making an impact for Liverpool in difficult circumstances, considering his limited minutes.
“Wata has been really useful for us this season,” he said. “It’s not a matter of how many minutes you play. You can be very important for two minutes and less important for 90 minutes.
“But what makes Wata special in my opinion is that every time we have to rely on him, if it’s five, 10, 20 or 25 minutes, he shows up. And that sounds much more simple than it is.
If a player hasn’t had a lot of playing time, then to be mentally so strong, that if the team needs you, you can bring your best performance, that’s not always easy.
Mostly you see players that don’t play a lot finding it difficult to get their rhythm or quality in the lesser playing time they get.
“The only thing is, defending is always easier than creating. If you play a player who hasn’t played for a long time and he has to create after not many minutes, it’s always more difficult than defending.
But Wata has been important for us and will be important for us in the upcoming weeks as well.”
