Danny Murphy has been ‘really impressed’ by one thing Andoni Iraola has done in his first few days as Liverpool head coach.
Last Thursday, the Spaniard was confirmed as Arne Slot’s successor on Merseyside, earning the Anfield job off the back of his tremendous work at Bournemouth, who finished in their highest-ever placing of sixth in the top flight in the most recent campaign.
In his first public words in his new role, the 43-year-old proclaimed that ‘football is about emotions’ and that there’s ‘no better place than Anfield’ at which to feel that, whilst also acknowleding the ‘challenge’ which comes with leading a club of such stature.
Speaking exclusively to Empire of the Kop (in association with NetBet Sport), Murphy has praised how Iraola seems ‘appreciative’ of the magnitude of getting the Liverpool job and is confident that the Spaniard will improve the Reds’ players with his proactive style of play.
The former LFC midfielder said: “The obvious attraction with Iraola is the style. There’s a way that he’s played in his managerial career that Liverpool have been crying out for this season with the bravery, the high intensity, the energy.
“The way he’s conducted himself in the press throughout his time in the Premier League has been pretty good. He comes across as a humble guy who loves football. He’s had the odd little rant after a bad decision but all managers do that.
“He seems to be very appreciative of the role he’s been given. I was really impressed with his interview for Liverpool’s media. He seems to get the remit of what Liverpool fans want and what they expect. I think that’s a great start and he improves players.
“What he did at Bournemouth, not just the collective, but individually a lot of those players have really improved. The fact that they’ve sold a lot of them to bigger clubs tells you that he’s doing a good job.”
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Head coaches and managers will be judged primarily on results, but with Liverpool not playing competitively for another two-and-a-half months, Iraola has seized his opportunity to secure a quick win with a few well-chosen words upon his appointment at Anfield.
He’s already tapped into how the power of the fans can be harnessed at the Reds’ stadium and seeking to make an immediate emotional connection with supporters who thrive off that quality, whilst making it clear that he intends to foster a positive culture every day at the AXA Training Centre.
His public commitment to enhancing the development of young players is also sure to resonate with Kopites who take great pride in seeing talented academy products go on to become first-team stalwarts, and the Spaniard could be the perfect coach to give Rio Ngumoha the scope to become even better than he already is.
Winning is what matters most at Liverpool, but we also want the most front-facing figure at the club to represent LFC in the best way possible. From what we’ve seen of Iraola at Bournemouth and over the past few days, we can expect him to be a wonderful ambassador for this footballing institution.
He’s got the fans onside straight away – let’s hope the positive feeling accelerates with wins on the pitch once the new season gets underway!
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Looking back through Liverpoo recent l history and previous Liverpool manager’s. Iraola has to be the most inexperienced manager we’ve ever had at Liverpool football club. Souness, houllier, benitez, slot, even Brendan Rodgers more experienced than Iraola got Swansea promotion from the championship.
Let’s hope Iraola has what it takes, irrelevant what he did at Bournemouth. Completely different ball game at a massive football club , where there’s always pressure and expectation in every game. There was none at Bournemouth.
In the end slot lost the dressing room, wasn’t strong enough, let’s see if this untried unproven Iraola fairs any better,
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