Imminent £241m Liverpool arrivals could be about to really kickstart Iraola era

During around an hour in his company this week, it was easy to see the qualities have taken the 44-year-old this far in what has been a relatively short coaching career to date.

Humility, a willingness to work hard and an absence of ego were all detected during the chat he gave to a handful of publications that included the ECHO on Tuesday.

And in his efforts to steer clear of being lionised by the Liverpool fans who have always liked to bestow greatness on their managers who perform, Iraola inadvertently hit on the crux of the matter at Anfield this coming season.

“I always consider the players the main part of this,” Iraola said. “Coaches are important in terms of trying to maximise the potential of every player and try to create the environment to perform better.

“But it's true that when you have been so consistent for so many years in a row like Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have been.”

Iraola was attempting to spotlight his squad and allow them to take the acclaim if the Reds start to go in the right direction under his guidance.

But the former Bournemouth coach also indirectly made it clear how much this embattled squad will have to raise its game to move beyond what was, at times, a torrid term under Arne Slot.

To do that, however, Iraola will have to extract much more from two players who cost a combined £241m in Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz.

The pair represent the two biggest individual investments in Anfield history and there has, for various reasons and several mitigating factors, been nowhere near the return Liverpool would have hoped for so far.

The details for why are well worn by now. Wirtz entered a dressing room in mourning 12 months ago and was unable to quickly adapt to a new, more intense league at a time when the collective drop-off was stark.

There was some promise around December and January time but the No.7’s output slowly diminished as the entire team became gripped by the malaise.

An injury in the warm-up against Nottingham Forest in February had a bigger impact than anyone cared to admit at the time and the looming World Cup inevitably became a factor in the thinking.

Isak’s troubles were more pronounced. After a controversial and messy exit from Newcastle United, the Sweden star arrived late, unfit and then broke his leg which kept him out for four months and both players’ issues were not all of their own making.

One of the private explanations for why Liverpool struggled so much last season, particularly in an offensive sense, was the lack of game-time Wirtz and Isak had together on the pitch. And there has always been an insistence behind the scenes that fielding the potentially deadly duo more regularly would naturally lead to better results.

But Iraola will have to wash away those memories this coming campaign if he is to enjoy his time on Merseyside.

So it at least bodes well that both players will be with him in the coming days on the club’s pre-season tour of the United States. The hard work really will start then for Isak and Wirtz.

For so many, the Iraola appointment offers the chance of a clean slate and a happier period at Anfield. That is especially true for Isak and Wirtz.

Liverpool, though, will need to see some bang for their buck now and as conceded by the man himself, the entire Iraola era is perhaps dependant on it.

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