Liverpool fired Arne Slot over the weekend with Andoni Iraola looking set to take over after a season in which the Reds lost 19 games in all competitions and finished fifth
09:22, 01 Jun 2026
Arne Slot and Dominik Szoboszlai during the Premier League match between Bournemouth and Liverpool.
Arne Slot and Dominik Szoboszlai during the Premier League match between Bournemouth and Liverpool.(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
Arne Slot was fired by Liverpool on Saturday after the Reds lost 19 games in all competitions throughout a difficult season. Andoni Iraola looks set to take over.
How exactly do things need to change? After a summer in which there was argubly too much churn in playing staff, another busy period — with a new head coach — appears to be coming up. And, of course, there were several mitigations for the underperformance of Liverpool last term.
Nevertheless, the decision has been made to go in a different direction. Fan opinion on Slot had turned, and it is thought that the Reds want to ensure they are playing a faster and more energetic style moving forward.
According to The Athletic, some Liverpool players were sympathetic to Mohamed Salah's feelings that the game plan had pivoted towards Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, rather than the Egyptian.
Given Salah's age and that so much money was splashed on the new additions, however, it is hard to argue that it was the wrong move, even if it did lead to tensions when things didn't go to plan.
It is also claimed that some "privately questioned" the decision to shift Dominik Szoboszlai to right-back to cover for Conor Bradley when the Hungarian was the best performer in midfield.
Arne Slot looks on during a game at Anfield.
Arne Slot was fired by Liverpool on May 30.(Image: Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, others supposedly felt that the new signings were given an "easier ride" than the old guard and were more likely to keep their place in the starting XI if they underperformed.
But what matters most is that the direction of travel for next season is positive, and a change of voice in training and press conferences can be a good thing.
The gaping holes in the Liverpool roster will also have to be addressed. And if it is to be Iraola that takes over at Anfield, Liverpool will need a much deeper squad to be able to cope with his physically demanding style.
"The way he structured the weeks, we didn't really have any days off, nothing," the former Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo told All Out Football earlier this year.
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"It's very hard going from having Wednesday and Sunday off to having no days off. We would play on the Saturday, train on Sunday.
"The players that were in the starting XI would do like the first maybe 30, 40 minutes of the session, so you're hanging, your legs have gone. You're doing the possession, you have to run around, you're thinking 'oh dear!'.
"Even now (he was speaking April 2026), it hasn't changed. Some of the boys are like, 'No day off this week again,' in the group chat. It still hasn't changed!"
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Certainly, Liverpool needs to be more intense and aggressive next season. It was far too easy to play through for much of the campaign just gone. That isn't the only change required, though, with a big period awaiting.