Andoni Iraola: Inside the Liverpool manager’s first week and the big decisions he faces
At the training ground in Kirkby, the players spent the first few days being assessed individually before taking to the pitch with the ball on Thursday and Friday.
Iraola is very involved in these sessions and often says “bravo” when he sees something he likes. The intensity is evident, especially in the training videos uploaded by Liverpool’s official channels.
Iraola and his coaching staff spend the majority of their day on the training ground – focusing mainly on assessing the skills of the current squad.
The new coach told the players that he sees them as new players. Harvey Elliott returned a week earlier than expected while Curtis Jones looks like he “had a great summer”, according to a source. Jeremy Jacquet, who has been handed the fifth shirt, is fit and recovering from a shoulder injury.
All in all, the players came back in “good nick”, the medical staff was impressed. When it comes to endurance, under Jurgen Klopp the players will do a lactate test while it is a six-minute race test under Slot.
Iraola’s fitness test is a little different – players go to an area with diagonals and cones to repeat the changes of direction with high intensity.
“It’s tricky when your legs are moving,” linebacker Joe Gomez was heard saying to Jones.
Those in the training grounds say that there is definitely a spirit of youth in the team, as there are eight players who are still in World Cup duty and have yet to join. As one source put it: “This is really a chance for a new team to emerge before many of the old ones come back.”
“There will definitely be changes,” Iraola told Stan Sports in an interview. “A lot of old players, players who have won everything here have left and we need other players not to replace them but to take (more responsibility) on and off the field.”
Coming to a club of Liverpool’s size is quite different for Iraola but there is a common respect for the 44-year-old’s build and work at Bournemouth.
If his first week is anything to go by, Iraola is confident and comfortable but not box office. Perhaps another way to put it now is that his presence will not be as felt as it was with a major character like Klopp.
Those who know him well believe that he will not change his ways and Iraola said this in his press conference.
Come Monday afternoon, Liverpool will be flying across the Atlantic to Chicago, where they will base their pre-season tour that includes games in Nashville and New York.
That trip will give Iraola his first real chance to work with an extended squad, with most of the rest of the first team expected to join, along with a number of academy players who will be traveling, including 15-year-old Josh Abe.
In either side of the three friendlies scheduled, where most will get playing time, two training sessions are scheduled for the warm-up. Both Iraola and his squad will know that from now on, the pressure will be on.
