Dominik Szoboszlai has lauded new Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola for bringing the intensity back to the club.
The Hungarian midfielder credited the Basque as a “very good” head coach in comments made to the press during the Reds’ ongoing tour of the States.
The Merseysiders have enjoyed a fruitful pre-season so far, securing wins against Wrexham (1-0) and Sunderland (4-2) ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.
You never want to be too disparaging about a former Liverpool manager – especially not when said manager brought the Premier League title back to Anfield at the first time of asking.
We can’t dilute Arne Slot’s incredible achievement at the helm, following in the footsteps of a beloved coaching giant in Jurgen Klopp.
But it’s difficult to look at Szoboszlai’s comments (relayed on X by the Daily Mail’s Lewis Steele) and not come to the conclusion that the Dutchman took Liverpool wildly off course.
Szoboszlai on Iraola: "He is very good. The intensity we need is here now, what we have been missing is back. From the coach side and the players, now we have to put this together."
— Lewis Steele (@LewisSteele_) July 30, 2026
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We’re not opposed to a tactical evolution at L4, just to be clear, but a Liverpool side playing without intensity is, as we’re sure most Reds can agree, a shift too far from base.
We’re glad to see that Andoni Iraola has come in and immediately corrected course in that regard.
There’s a good chance that the summer transfer window ends without most fans feeling a sense of satisfaction over the scale of the business conducted.
Even should Bradley Barcola be secured, there’s still a big question mark over the state of the right flank, not to mention further concerns over our defensive depth and the lack of a natural holding six.
Frankly, as we head into August, we can’t see all of these issues being extinguished come the close of the window in September.
But we do, at the very least, expect a Liverpool side to go out against Newcastle at St James’ Park on the first day of the Premier League season and play with aggressive purpose.
We expect verticality, we expect rapid counters… ultimately, we want a team that makes us feel proud leaving the north east after full-time.
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