Milos Kerkez has given a compelling insight into just how gruelling an Andoni Iraola training session can be.
The Liverpool defender has had something of a head start on his teammates in terms of being accustomed to the Reds’ new head coach, under whom he worked for two seasons at Bournemouth before the pair reunited on Merseyside earlier this summer.
The LFC players are gradually getting used to how the 44-year-old works, and while the Hungary left-back revealed just how intense a trainer his boss can be, he claimed that his teammates have immediately warmed to the Basque.
Speaking to reporters whilst on Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the United States, Kerkez said of Iraola (via The Athletic): “He’s all about intensity. He’s not scared to play one-on-one all over the pitch, to press high and to be on the front foot always. I think the other guys also like how he works.”
The 22-year-old added: “If you see the footage of how we all are after training, all lying down, then you can see what he is preparing us for. You definitely need legs and good condition for what he wants us to do, but we will be alright.
“Sometimes we play some games with three or four teams and he calls it ‘consequences’. The losing team has to run. How much you have to run depends on what he decides in that moment, but there is always running for the team that loses.”
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Liverpool may have played just one match (a friendly) under Iraola so far, but already his imprint on the Reds’ squad seems quite clear.
Sunderland defender Dan Ballard claimed after their 4-2 defeat to LFC last weekend that the Merseysiders were far more aggressive and direct in that game than they had been under Arne Slot last season.
Meanwhile, Sean Dyche spoke of how the Basque’s Bournemouth side would ‘force you into submission’, having faced them several times whilst in charge of Everton and Nottingham Forest, with the 44-year-old renowned for his high-pressing approach.
Kerkez’s anecdote about the ‘consequences’ for the losing team in Iraola’s training sessions serves to further highlight just how relentlessly the head coach works his players, even in the searing American midsummer sun.
Of course, this is all with a view to the Liverpool squad being supremely fit during the hard winter slog when the fixtures come thick and fast, and being able to carry out his preferred style of play without wilting in mid-season.
Nobody can guarantee that Iraola will be a success at Anfield, but we can be assured of is that his players won’t be found wanting for effort on matchday. Otherwise, you best believe they won’t last too long under the Basque.
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Fantastic approach. My only concern is we need a bigger squad to play this was. It was fine at Bournemouth who played one game a week. A bit different when we are like.y to play between 55 and 65 games this season
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