Former Liverpool captain Jamie Redknapp has given his backing to the appointment of Andoni Iraola as Arne Slot's replacement
Andoni Iraola during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Bournemouth at Anfield.
Andoni Iraola during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Bournemouth at Anfield.(Image: Robin Jones - AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)
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Former Liverpool captain Jamie Redknapp has given his support to the prospect of Andoni Iraola replacing Arne Slot at Anfield.
Slot was relieved of his duties on Saturday after an end-of-season review with sporting director Richard Hughes, where it was concluded that 20 defeats across all competitions left the head coach's position untenable.
Iraola has emerged as one of the early front-runners for the vacant job at Anfield after he left Bournemouth at the end of the campaign following a sixth-place finish.
And former Reds skipper Redknapp, who made 13 first-team appearances for the Cherries before moving to Liverpool in 1991, believes the Spaniard is the right fit to get the Reds back on track.
"I love the man," Redknapp told Sky Sports. "I never thought what Eddie Howe did [at Bournemouth] could be eclipsed, but he's done that.
"The style of football is amazing - they play high pressure, they get after teams, which is exactly what Liverpool fans want.
"They want to see people with high energy, whether that fits the Liverpool mould, because they'll play man for man a lot.
"That style of play in midfield is really high energy - whether Florian Wirtz fits into that, it'll be fascinating to see. Everybody is going to have to run in that team."There's talk that he doesn't like to talk to his players too much - if you're not in the team, he doesn't want to talk to you. That won't appeal to a lot of the players, but, in this day and age, a lot of players go straight to the chairman or the director of football anyway."But he sets his stall out early - if you're in the team, he tells you a couple of hours beforehand. What will be the question now, going from Bournemouth to Liverpool, is how do you handle that transition? I don't see it as a problem for him."
Redknapp added: "As long as he gets the right players he needs. You can see he's made so many players at Bournemouth go from okay players to fantastic players, that look fit for the bill."I've got no problems with if he can handle it. He was a great player and is now an elite manager. If it is to be him, I have no doubt."