New Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola will make adjustments to Arne Slot’s pre-season preparations, as senior players welcome the fresh start at Anfield following Slot’s sacking
After a hectic week of introductions, Andoni Iraola will be getting down to business stamping his authority on Liverpool. The Spaniard has been confirmed as Liverpool’s new permanent head coach following Arne Slot’s recent dismissal.
The Basque’s three impressive campaigns at Bournemouth have put him in prime position to take charge at Anfield. However, as with any managerial change, major transformations are looming at the club.
Liverpool’s summer transfer business is also anticipated to be significant under their new gaffer. Yet Iraola’s thinking on what he aims to alter – and what he intends to keep unchanged – regarding the Reds’ pre-season preparations have now emerged.
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Meanwhile in today’s latest developments, Liverpool’s senior stars have expressed their opinions on the 43-year-old’s appointment and their reactions to the club’s choice to dismiss Slot, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Iraola has disclosed he will make modifications to certain plans Slot had established for the Reds this summer. He indicated that those Liverpool players featuring at the World Cup will have their return to training closely supervised when they come back.
Nevertheless, the former Cherries manager made it clear he has no desire to completely overhaul the foundation work completed prior to his arrival. “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. “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 recognises that those operating behind the scenes are the people best positioned to provide him with the most valuable insight while the tournament takes place.
“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 continued. “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 informed The Athletic that there’s a tangible sense of expectation regarding Iraola’s appointment. The report discloses that the gloom of last season “dragged down the mood in the Liverpool dressing room towards the end of Slot’s reign”.
However, it suggests that the players are now ready to “embrace the prospect of a fresh start” and “an injection of positivity and new ideas,” affirming that some players view the managerial switch as a “clean slate”.
These reports have corroborated Robbie Fowler’s prediction that the players would welcome the news of Slot’s exit. The Liverpool icon told the ECHO before Iraola secured the Anfield position, that this is a time for optimism.
Speaking via BetMGM, the former Liverpool forward 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.”