Liverpool reportedly have Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola on their list of potential Arne Slot replacements, with the Dutchman battling to save his job.
The Reds have hit their lowest ebb for years, with Wednesday’s 4-1 hammering at the hands of PSV Eindhoven leaving Slot in big trouble.
For now, the Dutchman is safe, and he provided an update on his future during Thursday’s press conference ahead of Sunday’s trip to West Ham:
“We had the same conversations as we’ve had since I’m here. We fight on and we try to improve, that’s what we all try. But the conversations have been the same as they’ve been for the past one-and-a-half years.
“There’s a lot of pressure if you work or play at a top club, and even more so if you start losing more games than this club, the players and manager is used to.There is always pressure. But there was a lot of pressure last season as well to win the title. Now it’s a different kind of pressure. What it does to me, I can only do the same – but I don’t have to play, so maybe my job is a little bit easier.
“I think it’s hard for every player if you are on a bad run of results, if you go down immediately after three minutes, play a good first half and then 10 minutes after half-time you concede again. We get knock after knock after knock, but that’s why I keep saying, especially when that happens, we have to keep fighting. That’s what we expect. The minimum I and we expect is we do this over 90 minutes.”
Iraola mentioned as potential Slot replacement at Liverpool
Now, a report from Spain claims that Iraola is on Liverpool’s radar, should they decide to part company with Slot in the near future.
It is stated that the Reds see the Bournemouth manager as a “coach capable of driving the squad’s evolution, improving ball circulation, organizing the pressing, and revitalizing players who are struggling to find their best form”, adding that “his profile fits the long-term project the club envisions.”
Iraola stands out as a great choice for Liverpool, but for now, Slot deserves to be given another chance to show that he is the right man for the job.
Should he lose to West Ham, though, and be sacked, the 4-2-3-1-playing Spaniard could be a popular appointment, having been lauded as “incredible” by Jamie Redknapp.
He has worked wonders at Bournemouth, playing excellent football and making them an established Premier League team, and his arrival could even aid Liverpool’s hopes of signing Antoine Semenyo.