- 20 hours ago
Iraola unveiled as new Liverpool boss as pre season starts with club looking for improvement
13/07/2026
AXA Training centre, Liverpool, UK
13/07/2026
AXA Training centre, Liverpool, UK
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SportsTranscript
00:02Good morning.
00:02Good morning.
00:07Andoli, first of all,
00:08what message have you got for the fans
00:09in terms of what they can expect from you,
00:12what you're hoping to produce here at Liverpool?
00:15It's a great question for the first one.
00:19I would like to give them a team
00:21that they can feel proud of.
00:23I think
00:26football, especially Liverpool for me,
00:28is about connecting,
00:29connecting with the people,
00:31connecting with our supporters.
00:33I've been on the other side at Anfield.
00:35I've experienced,
00:37I always say, the goal that Kiesa scored
00:39in the first game of the past season,
00:43where you can feel
00:44the stadium.
00:45And I would love to have this every game we play.
00:49And it has to
00:50come from us, from inside the pitch.
00:52And we have to be a team
00:53that
00:57works hard,
00:58intense, aggressive,
01:00vertical,
01:01so everyone can
01:03be identified,
01:05everyone
01:07can feel comfortable
01:10supporting this team.
01:11In terms of that, then, as well,
01:13what do you feel the squad needs in terms of reinforcement?
01:17Yeah, obviously,
01:19we've signed two players already,
01:21but we need more players.
01:23We know this.
01:24The club is working on this.
01:27me as a
01:30selfishly,
01:30you want the players here,
01:32ready to train
01:35from the pre-season,
01:36but we understand that football
01:38doesn't work like this,
01:40and I know the club
01:42is working hard to get those
01:46signings,
01:46and I'm trying obviously to help also.
01:48Just to gauge where the current group is at,
01:51what conversations have you had?
01:53Have you spoken to
01:53on the slot
01:54about what happened last season?
01:56Also,
01:56the likes of Virgil van Dijk,
01:58the likes of Alisson as well,
01:59have you spoken to them?
02:00Because they're two players as well,
02:01with just 12 months left on their contract.
02:02Yes,
02:03I've spoken,
02:05especially with all the players
02:06that have been in the World Cup,
02:11especially the ones that
02:12have already been eliminated
02:15and are enjoying their holidays.
02:18I didn't want to disturb them
02:21or bother them while the World Cup was ongoing,
02:24but I think it's been a very good conversation.
02:28I'm also using these couple of weeks
02:32I've had before we start properly
02:33the first team trainings
02:35to talk with a lot of people
02:38around that work every day here,
02:41and those are the ones that are helping me.
02:44Create, I think,
02:45a good environment
02:45so our players can perform
02:49and we can maximise their abilities.
02:54Okay, thank you.
02:56Carl,
02:57can you say who you are in the organisation?
03:06Do you understand what it means to be a local manager?
03:11You said you spoke to people around the club,
03:14do you understand what the job means?
03:16Yeah, I want to think.
03:18I understand.
03:19Probably until you are not here
03:21and until I don't go through certain experiences,
03:26I will not fully know.
03:28But I'm here to experience those situations.
03:33I'm ready for it.
03:35I understand this is a massive club.
03:39Everything that I'm going to say now
03:41is going to go to big scrutiny.
03:44You have to be very aware of the mistakes.
03:47But I wouldn't like also to be too careful.
03:50You know, I would like to act quite normal.
03:53We were talking to Tony now.
03:55I'm not going to live in my bubble,
03:57just training ground, home.
03:59I would like also to go to the city,
04:01experience the city.
04:01I know some places.
04:02I will have to take some pictures.
04:05But it's part also of the magic,
04:08of being the Liverpool manager.
04:12I would like not to change too much.
04:30Yes, obviously I talked to the players.
04:32I talked to the staff.
04:33I talked about the things that were working very well.
04:37Things that we think we can do differently.
04:41I wouldn't say better, differently.
04:45I think it's different.
04:49I have the advantage that probably players already know
04:53what we are going to demand in terms of style of play.
04:59But we will have time to know each other.
05:02One thing is to know a player, to talk to a player,
05:05to ask him, okay, where do you feel more comfortable
05:07in this position, in this other one?
05:09Where do you see yourself?
05:10Because I'm making the players this question.
05:12So I can understand them and I can...
05:14But after, I will see them train.
05:18I will make some tests during pre-season.
05:22I will feel things and then I will take decisions from there.
05:27Just go off on that, you start trying to know the players.
05:30How much will the World Cup impact you as a new manager
05:34trying to learn about new players when they're going to come back into all this involved?
05:40Sorry, I didn't get the question.
05:42You're a new manager with new players.
05:46Some of those players are going to come back later than others in the World Cup.
05:49How much does that make your job more difficult?
05:53I think it is what it is.
05:55We cannot change it.
05:56I think players deserve a break.
05:59The ones that have been in the World Cup, they deserve at least three weeks.
06:03So they can enjoy their time with friends, family, thinking other things, even physically.
06:11Some of them need a rest after a very busy season.
06:18And I think I'm looking at the positives almost.
06:21Because I've had now one week to see every training from the other 21s.
06:27We've had some of the players from the first team willing to come a little bit before.
06:32So they are already in a better shape to start.
06:37Already today that they didn't have to come, I've seen two or three that I haven't seen before.
06:41They are already here, ready for the testing tomorrow.
06:44So I think this progressive introduction also will allow me maybe to get more in touch with every player.
06:52And also will give, especially the young players, some players that have been on loan, more minutes during pre-season.
06:59The first part of pre-season basically is going to be with a lot of players from the academy,
07:05players that in other situations maybe I wouldn't know as well.
07:09And now I will have the chance to get them to know personally, training every day with them, in some
07:15friendlies.
07:16And it's going to be good information for me.
07:20Thank you, Julia.
07:20Julia, from the Radio Merseyside.
07:23Harvey Elliott's return.
07:24He had a strange season for him last season.
07:27It didn't turn out how many anticipated.
07:29Do you see a situation where Harvey Elliott's future is now at Liverpool again?
07:35Definitely, Harvey is here with us.
07:38He has come also.
07:39I have seen him with this eagerness of showing himself, getting himself ready again.
07:47He will have a chance during the pre-season.
07:51We will need him.
07:53And it's a good sign.
07:54He came one week earlier.
07:56He has been training with the under-21s.
07:59And I hope we can see him in a good place.
08:04I think Harvey, especially last season, had to be very difficult for him.
08:11Because it was a strange situation where basically they couldn't even put him to play.
08:18And I think he uses this bad situation he has experienced to make him even more eager to be a
08:32Liverpool player.
08:33You mentioned the scrutiny that comes to being at Liverpool.
08:37Can you be the same coach as you always have been?
08:41Maybe you have to change now.
08:42I will try to be the same coach.
08:44I understand.
08:45I will maybe make mistakes here.
08:47I will say things that I shouldn't.
08:49But you cannot be all the time thinking, sadly, don't tell this.
08:56I think you have to be yourself.
08:58You have to be yourself.
08:59And I will try to be.
09:01Obviously, I cannot say everything here to you.
09:04There are some things that you have to keep private.
09:08But especially with the players.
09:10I know that we will have big personalities, big egos.
09:15But I will try not to change with them also.
09:18So, yes.
09:20Pa?
09:21Hi, Anthony.
09:22Hi.
09:23Just following on from that.
09:25In terms of your character, your personality, what can fans expect from you?
09:30What kind of personality or character would you say?
09:34The most difficult question, probably, no?
09:37Try to describe yourself.
09:39I don't like to do this at all.
09:42I think you have the advantage that you've already seen me.
09:45Three years at least in the Premier League.
09:47I think everyone kind of...
09:50Some of them will know me better.
09:53The others maybe they don't know me.
09:54But the people involved in football, more or less.
09:58They will know what we are going to try to do.
10:03Obviously, I understand that this is Liverpool.
10:05We have to change some things.
10:07We have to change a little bit.
10:10Even tactically, even on the pitch.
10:14But if they sign me, it's because they want a lot of things that I was doing before in other
10:21clubs.
10:22So, I wouldn't like to change in the pitch the DNA of what have been my teams and also outside.
10:30How I'm going to answer your questions, how I'm going to relate to the supporters, how I'm going to...
10:36I think I will try to be as natural as possible and I hope it doesn't change me a lot.
10:40And there's been a lot of change.
10:42Obviously, yourself coming in, you've seen your players at Black,
10:45and you've been thinking about changing quite the scenes as well.
10:48Do you think, going into next season, what are the expectations?
10:51Is there possibly an element of the patients in these sets of transition?
10:55Or can you build their intelligence?
10:57No, I think we have to accept that there are difficult situations right now
11:05in terms of, I would say, both sides.
11:09A lot of senior players living.
11:12Very important players that have achieved almost everything here in the club.
11:17And also some of the very important players injured.
11:22You know, we haven't started training and we already have, especially in cases of Uwe Kitike,
11:29Connor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, long injuries.
11:35So in terms of also improving the team, we have to consider, okay, we have to replace very important players
11:43that were making very good numbers.
11:46And also we have a situation with, especially those three like big injuries that are going to miss some time,
11:53that we also have to find a way to replace, you know.
11:56We know that these three players, for example, are, I love them, the three.
12:00They are the long-term solutions, I'm sure.
12:02You know, about Connor, about Giovanni, about Hugo.
12:06But there is going to be, especially in Hugo's case, a period where we will be without them
12:13and we have to try to find solutions also.
12:33Yes, I think they have to be our core principles.
12:39After we will have a lot of games, a lot of questions that you may miss.
12:44No, if you face low blocks and this, I always say, okay, I prefer to face low blocks in terms
12:49of,
12:49okay, we will be in control of the games, probably we will consider less chances,
12:52we will spend a lot of time in opposition half.
12:54And those are the scenarios that we have to find.
12:57Some teams, they give you straight away that situation, perfect.
13:01Other teams, they don't give it straight away because they will try also to control the game,
13:06to play in your half.
13:09I'm looking forward to spend as much time as we can in opposition half.
13:13With the ball, without the ball.
13:15Because I feel we are closer to the score than the opposition if it's that the situation.
13:35Yeah, two-year deals, I always say in terms of coaching contracts, they don't matter a lot.
13:42You know, I don't want to be in a place because I have a contract.
13:45Because we are not sure, but you have a contract, stay there.
13:48No, it's like, okay.
13:49I think I signed two years, but it's basically year to year.
13:54When you are a coach, we've seen a lot of managers that they have long contracts
13:59and because the club doesn't want because they don't want.
14:02Because at the end, when you are a player, it's very important.
14:08I think the contract is very important.
14:09But when you are a manager, I feel, you know, also if they suck you, it's going to be better
14:15because they will pay me a little bit more.
14:17You know, if I haven't worked also, you know, it's like, if you are happy, I'm happy.
14:22Don't worry, I hope I can stay here two years.
14:24No, a lot more years.
14:25It would mean that I've done a very good job.
14:27You know, but I feel we have to earn.
14:30Managers, we have to earn every year the right to continue.
14:34You know, especially in clubs like Liverpool, but I do it everywhere.
14:38I've done it always like this, yes.
14:42I have a question at Toursport International.
14:45Last year, Bournemouth played 40 games in the competitions and Liverpool played 57 games.
14:50Yes.
14:50In terms of managing that extra workload, competing on all four fronts
14:54and playing that aggressive style you want to play,
14:56how important is the size of your squad in being able to manage that,
15:01particularly whether it's first-team players or players from the UK?
15:05Yes, I think it's a big challenge for me.
15:08I think it's a big change because here most of the weeks are not going to be clean
15:14in terms of we will have a midweek game.
15:17I think it's also a great opportunity for the players,
15:22because I always love to have these kind of seasons as a player.
15:26You basically don't train a lot.
15:27You play, recover, play, recover.
15:29I think there is a chance to use more players also,
15:33because it's impossible to deal with these kind of seasons with 13, 14, 15 players.
15:39You need all the squad.
15:41And there are positives on this, but also we have to get ready
15:46because in this kind of hard season, a lot of games, injuries will happen,
15:50situations will happen.
15:52So we have to get ready in terms of squad depth,
15:54so we can deal with the demands of the competition,
15:59and we can go through those months, especially here in England,
16:02December, January, February.
16:04You know, those months are really hard,
16:07and we have to arrive to those months in a situation where we can deal with them.
16:12Yes.
16:15Can we go ahead?
16:16To the break up next door.
16:19Okay.
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