Andoni Iraola has been warned he needs to hit the ground running at Liverpool because he has only signed a two-year contract with the club. Iraola was appointed Liverpool boss earlier this month, succeeding the sacked Arne Slot.
Short Contract Raises Eyebrows
Eyebrows were raised over the short length of the contract that Iraola signed, even though he signed similar agreements earlier in his managerial career with Spanish sides Mirandes and Rayo Vallecano. Former Liverpool goalkeeper David James warned: "I think it will be interesting because obviously with Arne Slot being replaced because the results weren't right, you have got a new manager who will be allowed some kind of grace.
"So, I think there's a part there, in answering your question, that he won't be expected to be winning every game straight away.
"However, he will have new players coming in at the squad, into that team, undoubtedly, and therefore he will have an opportunity to put his mark on a group of players that will be getting used to a new style.
"Given the success he had with Bournemouth, and I say this respectfully, with players who were trying to make the grade, now that he has got players that you think are at that grade, then hopefully the performances and the results will come a lot quicker.
"I don't think it's imperative that he wins every game. That's a lot more pressure than possibly he needs. But he has only got a two-year contract, so he will have to get started pretty quick."
Iraola's Rise at Bournemouth
Iraola emerged as Liverpool's top target after guiding unfashionable Bournemouth to 12th, ninth and sixth-placed finishes in the Premier League. The Spaniard also received plenty of praise for the way he got the Cherries playing an attractive brand of attacking, high-energy football.
"I say this respectfully, what they have done is absolutely amazing this season," James said, via Grosvenor Sport. "You bring players in at Bournemouth to get the best out of them, to arguably move them on.
"And it's a different mindset to going to a club like Liverpool, where you should be already there. It's not to say that you can't improve. I don't believe that you shouldn't improve even at Liverpool.
"But if Iraola's playing style is with players who are learning to get better at the level of Bournemouth, then, as I say, it's quite exciting to think that if he has got the talent, like as we have seen already with [Alexander] Isak and [Florian] Wirtz, then what he wants to do, you would think he would be able to do quicker and better to start with. So that side of it is very exciting."
