Liverpool manager Arne Slot has won the Premier League in his first season. AFP Photo

Paul Kennedy

Haters are always going to hate. It comes with the territory. No matter what you manage to achieve, there’s also someone ready to knock you down.

It’s jealously, paranoia, or maybe deep down that person knows that no matter how hard they try, they will never be as good as you.

It stems from a lack of self-esteem, envy and a desire to devalue others to elevate oneself.

Now this can, and does, happen in all walks of life, but it really comes to the fore where football is concerned. And over the past few weeks I’ve witnessed it by the bucket load.

It started when the gap between Liverpool and the chasing pack widened to the point where the race was as good as run.

Although it was mathematically possible for Liverpool to slip up, in reality, that was never going to happen.

Then the haters started to hate.

“It’s a poor league”, “Arsenal have been plagued by injuries”, “Manchester City have dipped in form”, “Weakest Premier League ever”. Blah, blah, blah.

I could answer each and every one of them individually, but it’s really not worth the effort. Haters will always hate.

The fact of the matter is, Liverpool have been the best team this season, which, simply put, is why they are champions.

And while former manager Jurgen Klopp deserves a huge pat on the back for laying solid foundations, it’s new coach Arne Slot who has achieved the unthinkable.

First season in charge, zero experience in the Premier League and with virtually no new additions to the squad, Slot has been nothing short of mind-blowing.

Pundits far more knowledgeable than me have been analysing the changes Slot has made to what was essentially the same squad that fell short the season before under Klopp.

It’s been tweaks, rather than major surgery, and the ferocious beat of Klopp’s ‘heavy metal’ football has certainly slowed to something more akin to a soft rock ballad.

I have to admit, when his name was first linked to the Liverpool job, I’d never heard of him and needed Google to fill me in.

But after his achievements in his first season, he’s already become a Liverpool legend.

What Slot managed to do was find a way to win. Sometimes it wasn’t pretty, sometimes it was backs against the wall and sometimes the team needed to dig deep for the three points.

There were also times when Liverpool were poor in the first half and came out much improved after the break, with clear signs of Slot’s influence in the dressing room and willingness to change things that were not working.

Next season Liverpool will improve, and the rest of the chasing pack need to as well. Otherwise all you haters are just going to carry on hating. VNS