Emile Heskey speaks on the "immense" step up in pressure for Andoni Iraola as the new head coach of Liverpool
Andoni Iraola in the Liverpool dressing room after his first day on the job
Andoni Iraola in the Liverpool dressing room after his first day on the job(Image: Getty Images)
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Emile Heskey says Andoni Iraola is facing an "immense" step up in pressure and expectations as the new head coach at Liverpool.
And the former Reds striker reckons the new head coach will have to earn a buy-in from his squad this summer after claiming the players no longer believed in what Arne Slot was trying to do at Anfield.
Iraola was appointed Reds boss earlier this month on a two-year contract after leading Bournemouth to a sixth-place finish in the Premier League.
The Basque coach won plenty of admirers within Liverpool for the front-footed and aggressive style of football played on the south coast.
The former Cherries manager was quickly identified as the preferred candidate after Slot was sacked on May 30 but Heskey, who made 223 appearances for the Reds between 2000 and 2004, says the increase in the demands on Merseyside will be huge for the new man in charge.
"I think at the end of the day, the manager will always be blamed," Heskey told Grosvenor Sport. "Regardless of what's said and done, the manager takes the fall when it comes to results.
"It is his job to try and get the players playing the way that he wants to play, to be entertaining for the fans, and to win games. So inevitably [Slot] will be blamed for that.
"With Iraola, we've seen at Bournemouth that he knows how to win games, he knows how to set up structurally, and he knows how to change it structurally if he needs to.
"The only thing is he hasn't done it at a club like Liverpool, where the pressure is immense. There's no win, lose, or draw; you just have to win."
Heskey added: "It's going to be very tough for Iraola. What I will say is that what I've heard him talk about sounds great.
"It's aggressive football. It's on the front foot. It's what Liverpool fans have been so used to over the years - rock and roll football.
"He's spoken about that, but I'm hoping he can be tactical and get the players on his side.
"One thing you have to do is get the dressing room on your side. If you haven't got the players backing you, it's very tough, as we saw with Slot."
Iraola will take charge of his first match as Reds boss when they meet Sunderland in Nashville on July 25.