Curtis Jones has told Sky Sports that Mohamed Salah has apologized to his Liverpool team-mates for his explosive interview and said the team is united behind the forward.
Salah said after Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Leeds United last week that he no longer had a relationship with head coach Arne Slott and was left out of the squad for the Champions League win against Inter Milan.
However, Salah returned to the team last weekend after discussions with Slott and shined in the win against Brighton, scoring the second goal for Hugo Ekitike, who came on as a substitute midway through the first half.
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Slott then said there were “no issues to be resolved” with Salah, who departed for the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt, and teammate Jones revealed that Salah had apologized to the team.
In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, Jones said: “Mo is his own man and can speak for himself. He apologized to us and said, ‘If I influenced or offended anyone, I apologize.’ That’s the man he is.”
“I can only say this from someone who knows Mo. I know how he treated us and how he acted about it. He was positive too. He was exactly the same Mo. He had a big smile on his face and everyone was exactly the same towards him. I think that’s part of just wanting to be a winner, and I don’t think he’ll be the last.”
“I understand there is a certain way to do things, but if a player just wants to be on the bench and doesn’t want to play and help the team, I think that’s more of a problem.
“When there was any anger from us, including myself, it was always from a good direction. It may not have manifested itself in the right way at that moment, but it never affected the team, the staff, the coach, people like that. We’ve moved past those situations now and we’re coming together well as a team and we’re playing well and starting to win games.”
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“No one is blaming anyone.”
Jones voiced his displeasure in a post-match interview after Liverpool lost 4-1 to PSV Eindhoven at Anfield last month, calling it “unacceptable” and saying it was “a thing of the past to be angry” at the club’s worst run in 71 years.
But since then, Liverpool have gone five games unbeaten and appear to be turning the corner for a busy period of the season.
“I’m a Scouser and I know how much it means to this city, the fans, the club and the staff,” he said. “This is probably the first time I’ve ever been in a situation like this. There were several reasons why I came out and spoke. I was just being honest. I’m going to say what I think, but sometimes it’s going to hurt (people) in a bad way.”
“Anyone who knows me will know that I hate to lose. It doesn’t matter if it’s a card game or a training game. Now I’m in the first team, I’m a Scouser, so I support the team since I was a kid, I play as a player, but at the same time as a fan. I know how much it affects the fans, it affects me exactly the same. There’s something special about me that I can’t lose.”
“I was angry but shocked at the same time. It was positive to see how the players behaved. They didn’t blame Mo, they didn’t blame the manager, they didn’t blame each other or anything like that. It was their own fault.”
“I’ve been telling the guys they have to run more, fight more, compete more. I’m not just telling them, me too. That’s what you’re starting to see now, and that’s why it feels like the whole thing is changing.”
Jones continued, “When you talk to players on different teams and see how our team is doing versus their teams, it’s more of a family thing here, and families argue and fight, but they always stick together. That little comment showed that family is the most important thing.”
“Obviously to the fans and to Mr. Mo, I say it hasn’t affected us in any way. It affected our mentality that we have to win, but I don’t blame anyone. I think that’s the important thing.”
Slott: I’m not going to distract Salah with Liverpool talk
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Liverpool manager Arne Slott has shared an update on Salah after Slott and the Egyptian forward have ‘moved on’ following recent comments.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Slott said he would not distract Salah with talk about Liverpool while he is playing in the African Cup of Nations.
“I said last week that actions speak louder than words, and we have moved on,” Slott said. “He was in the team and was the first player I replaced.
“Now he’s playing in a big game in the AFCON, not just for himself but for his country. Fair to them as well as us. We’re going to have a very important game, so all the eyes are on him over there and that shouldn’t prevent me from saying anything about his time here at Liverpool.”
“After the Leeds interview we took the next step and he played against Brighton.”
