 Slater was small for a goalkeeper standing at just 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) and was nicknamed "Shorty" but he was immediately put into the Liverpool goal upon his arrival in 1959 but after a disastrous start to the season the No.1 shirt was handed to Doug Rudman, but when Bill Shankly arrived Bert got his place back and went on to clock-up 30 appearances in all competitions.He followed this up by being an ever-present during the 1960/61 as Liverpool, incredibly finished 3rd (top 2 gained promotion) for a fifth straight season.Shankly rallied his troops and also brought in Ron Yeats and Ian St John to strengthen his side, it worked, Liverpool won the division by 8 points and were promoted to the top tier of English football after an 8-year break, Slater played his part by appearing 29 times, but he now had serious competition as Shankly had signed James Furnell from Burnley.