Andoni Iraola is heading into a vital pre-season with Liverpool
Following a hectic week of introductions, Andoni Iraola will be busy implementing his ideas at Liverpool. The Spaniard has been named as Liverpool’s next permanent head coach following Arne Slot’s recent dismissal.
The Basque’s three impressive seasons at Bournemouth put him in good standing to lead the Reds. However, as with any managerial switch-up, big changes lie ahead at Anfield.
Liverpool’s summer transfer business is also expected to be extensive under their new coach. However, Iraola’s comments on what he will and won’t alter about the Reds’ pre-season plans have emerged.
Elsewhere in today’s latest, Liverpool’s senior players have given their verdict on the 43-year-old’s appointment and how they view the club’s decision to part with Slot.
Iraola’s rule change
Iraola has said he will tinker with some of the plans Slot had for the Reds this summer. He insinuated that those Liverpool players at the World Cup will have their integration into training watched over carefully once they return to the club.
However, the former Cherries coach clarified that he won’t tamper with too many of the plans that were implemented ahead of his arrival but will tweak things for pre-season. “Yes, there was already a lot of work done even before we arrived, and we are trying to change as little as possible for the beginning,” he said.
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“Obviously there will be different timetables, some of them depending how far they arrive with the national teams [at the World Cup], they will incorporate later or sooner. I think everything is in place so everything is quite smooth and there are no problems.”
The Reds will have eight current first-team players at the World Cup. Iraola knows that those behind the scenes are the ones who could provide him with the most insight while the tournament is underway.
“For me right now, I think it’s more than talk to the players. Some of them will be on deserved holidays, some of them will be with their national teams,” he added. “I want to talk to the staff, to the people that were here every day, that know very well the players, to arrive as ready as possible to that first day of pre-season.
“I think especially with a lot of those young players that will do the pre-season with us, a lot of things about the organisation, about the staff, about how we can create the best atmosphere, the best environment so when they arrive [on] day one, everyone feels everything is in place and we can do this process of adaptation, that it will take some time as soon as possible.
“It’s true that it’s going to be new staff, new people coming in, but I would like also to value a lot the ones that have been here working for the club with these players, that are really the ones that will help us more at the beginning.”
Senior players make feelings clear
A source close to the Liverpool dressing room has told The Athletic that there is a sense of excitement at Iraola’s appointment. The report states that the misery of last season “dragged down the mood in the Liverpool dressing room towards the end of Slot’s reign”.
However, it states that the players will now “embrace the prospect of a fresh start” and “an injection of positivity and new ideas,” confirming that some players view the change in manager as a “clean slate”.
The reports have vindicated Robbie Fowler’s prediction that the players would welcome the news of Slot’s dismissal. The Liverpool icon told Mirror Football, ahead of Iraola getting the Anfield job, that now is a time for optimism.
Speaking via BetMGM, the former Liverpool striker said: “I think there will be a little bit of excitement [at a new manager coming in].
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s not excitement about getting rid of the manager, it is excitement about the new plans, the new ideas, the training methods, the new everything.
“I think from a player’s point of view, that’s one of the first things you think of. ‘Well, how are we going to play? How is the system going to be? Are we all going to fit into this system?’ And then obviously the training regime, ‘What do we do in training?’
“For me, football is about creating an environment and a training environment where players want to come in and train all the time and want to be the very best version of themselves. So I think you look forward to it.”
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