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Liverpool boss Arne Slot has managed 36 wins from 50 games in his first season after beating West Ham 2-1

Arne Slot isn’t hugely comfortable with praise.

When asked on Friday what his role was in Mohamed Salah ’s new contract, he dismissed his own part and talked up sporting director Richard Hughes and owners FSG.

But Slot’s crowning achievement is within touching distance thanks to Virgil van Dijk’s dramatic 89th-minute winner and Sunday was another important milestone on that road to glory.



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West Ham was Slot’s 50th game as Liverpool manager and his 36th win.

That’s easily better than any other former Reds boss and Sir Kenny Dalglish, who was here watching from the stands, and Joe Fagan are the next best with 29 victories from their first 50 matches.

Dalglish and Fagan are the only Liverpool managers to win the title in their first seasons, a feat Slot can emulate as soon as Sunday.

But while Dalglish and Fagan took over during the glory days of the 1980s, Slot has excelled with no new players and a squad, which trailed in third last season, nine points behind champions Manchester City.

READ MORE:Mohamed Salah breaks remarkable Premier League record with assist against West HamREAD MORE:Virgil van Dijk goes from villain to hero as Liverpool edge closer to title - 6 talking points

He will be the first Dutch coach to win the Premier League and no Liverpool fan, even the most rabid Red could have predicted this.

Phil Thompson, who knows a thing or two about what it takes to win with Liverpool, says Slot’s greatest attribute is that he has made great players even better.

Take Luis Diaz and his goal yesterday was his 15th of the season, making this the Colombian’s most-prolific campaign for the Reds.

Slot is not comfortable with praise but plenty of it is about to come his way as he closes in on the Premier League title

Or Salah and he celebrating signing his new two-year deal by teeing up Diaz to set a new Premier League record for most goals and assists in a season of 45.

Or Alisson and the Brazil goalkeeper is in the form of his life after rescuing his team-mates again with three huge saves against the Hammers.

Chuck in the improvement in Ryan Gravenberch, surely Slot’s biggest success story, Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones, Ibrahima Konate and Alexis MacAllister and it’s clear that many players have benefitted from Slot’s magic touch.

Slot had better get used to praise because a lot of it is deservedly about to come his way.

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