- 11 minutes ago
Iraola on schedule and EFL Cup tie with Chelsea
27/10/2026
AXA training centre, Liverpool, UK
27/10/2026
AXA training centre, Liverpool, UK
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SportsTranscript
00:04Andoni, just want me to check first of all on Florian's ankle injury, how was that?
00:08And also any update as to when Dom and Shavazlai will be available?
00:13I don't think I can help you a lot, we still have to wait, we train later,
00:18we want to win this last day.
00:21He was quite fine, I think Florian I'm quite optimistic that he will be available.
00:26And with Dom and Victor, I'm not so sure, I don't want to say no,
00:32but I think it's going to be more difficult than Florian, yes.
00:35Selection-wise then, are you thinking you have to go similar to what you did against Spurs,
00:39particularly with Arsenal to come at the weekend,
00:41or does the fact that it's Chelsea at this stage of the competition
00:44and obviously you want to try and deliver a trophy in your first season as well,
00:48has that changed your thinking and you think maybe you need to go with more regular starters?
00:52No, I think there will be definitely changes, but we want to win the game,
00:59we want to be competitive, we need to see how the legs are,
01:05we are kind of not just in the Carabao Cup, also in the Champions League,
01:09trying to make some changes from game to game, because I think it's almost mandatory.
01:16And we want to be in the next round, and we've been unlucky in the draw,
01:23we are playing Chelsea, they've been unlucky also.
01:27But we want to earn the right to be in the draw again, and that only happens if you win.
01:33I don't know exactly how important you feel it is to deliver a trophy for the season,
01:39but can you tell us what your feeling is regarding that?
01:41I think every competition is an opportunity, especially when you are the coach of Liverpool,
01:47and you have to take it like this.
01:51I would love to win tomorrow and have the chance to get further in the competition,
01:55but I know that we have to play very well, we have to beat a very good team.
01:59It's a team also that doesn't play in Europe, so for sure for them this competition is also very important,
02:07so it's not going to be easy.
02:09Have you had a chance to be another old friend before seeing another old friend of the weekend?
02:13Yes, yes, yes, yes. I'm lucky because I have a lot of friends in front, no?
02:17They are good coaches, but at least like happened past week with Inigo, no?
02:22I think after the game, whatever happens, we will have a moment to at least have five minutes,
02:28to chat with each other, yes.
02:31Hi, Andre. You've won the last four games, scored 14 goals,
02:35but you have had to sort of rotate here and there, what with injuries and different competitions,
02:40so how reassured and pleased are you that you've been able to do that and still get the results as
02:45well?
02:46I think it's not that we have a lot of options, we need to rotate.
02:51Every top team that plays every three days needs to rotate.
02:54Sometimes are forced rotations because you don't have players available and it's more difficult for me.
03:01And sometimes it's because we consider, for the different games, we have different demands
03:06and we have to go different tactically.
03:08But I'm happy because I see the team, everyone is involved.
03:13And when we've had the need to use someone that was not playing for one game for ten minutes,
03:19has been there and has helped us.
03:21And the more players we can have in a good place, the easier is going to be my selection.
03:26Even if it's hard in terms of leaving players out, I prefer those problems than not having the players ready.
03:32One player who's been sort of coming back in school for the Under-21s the other day is Jayden Downs.
03:37He's been on the bench a couple of times after the long injury absence.
03:40So what have you made of him from what you've seen of him?
03:42And can he give you some different options?
03:44With Jayden the problem has been until now this season, the availability.
03:49He got injured just before starting the season here.
03:53I was here with the Under-21s and has had some setbacks and has been in and out.
04:01And I think he's now building some good minutes.
04:04He scored also the other day. He's in a good place.
04:07He's been with us mostly in the European games.
04:13And I hope he continues progressing and he pushes, no?
04:18To fight for minutes, yes.
04:24Playing three games big was one of the challenges that you had to adapt to when you came here.
04:30I'm just wondering if you had to make some compromises in what you wanted to do or what you had
04:35to do in those weeks when you had games.
04:39No, it's the same for everyone.
04:41You know, you don't have time.
04:46But we don't have time, Chelsea doesn't have time, Arsenal will not have time.
04:49I think it makes a big difference if you have one more day or one less day.
04:54For example, against Brighton I think we were lucky.
04:56Even if Brighton rotate all the team and they didn't use the same players.
05:02At the end you cannot have the training specifically for that game.
05:06So it has to be done everything on the video in one or two days.
05:11And now it's the opposite.
05:13I think against Chelsea, against Arsenal, against Palace definitely we'll have some games where we have less time to rest
05:23than the opposition.
05:24But you have to adapt.
05:25Sometimes it's going to win your benefit, sometimes it's going to go against you like this week.
05:30It's a matter of adaptation and you cannot overthink.
05:35It's like analyse straight away what happened but in one hour you see next game.
05:41And it works like this and you have to be ready for this.
05:50There's been some talk about in the Brighton game about how Brighton had so much more possession than your side.
05:55And I think it was a similar thing against Villarreal.
05:58From the moment you scored the fourth goal to the end of the game, the last 20 minutes, they had
06:01almost twice as much possession as you.
06:03But it still felt like your team was in control of the game.
06:06Do you feel like when you've got a lead it's possible to be in control of the game without necessarily
06:11having the ball?
06:12And is that something that's going to happen a lot more in football?
06:16I think, I always said, who controls the game is who controls the chances, who has the chances.
06:21It's not who has the ball.
06:22I think against Brighton, for example, they didn't have the ball more than us but the ball is spent in
06:28their half more than in our half.
06:30You know, so I was really pleased with the performance.
06:35But definitely, I think we can improve.
06:37I think we had a good spell.
06:40Last ten minutes we controlled much better.
06:42We had a moment in the second half where we were considering probably too much territory.
06:47We were defending well but considering too much territory.
06:51But overall, I would like to play all the game like we played the first 30-35 minutes.
06:56That's our goal long term.
06:58You know, but I understand that normally you don't arrive there.
07:01You know, you can extend it, you can have your moments but I would love to, we can keep this
07:07level for all the games.
07:09This is what we want to do.
07:11But normally during 90 minutes you will have moments where, okay, you have to stay more compact.
07:17You have to play differently and we should be able to differentiate and to control the games like this.
07:26But the other day I finished quite pleased.
07:30The same way against Villarreal I felt we had spells where they were controlling us, especially in the first half.
07:38Against Villarreal we were not comfortable.
07:41The other day having the ball or not I felt the team was more or less quite in control of
07:47the situation.
07:47Do you think that they are kind of getting a bit more used to your ideas now?
07:51The fact that you were able to win almost in a different way will give you a little bit more
07:55confidence about the future?
07:56The more time we stay together, the more experiences we have together, the more comebacks, the more sometimes losses,
08:06the better you know each other and the easier it is to have references, to evolve.
08:13We want to do this process while we win games and that's the secret.
08:18But now every game is a challenge, everything is costing us, but we have to keep going, yes.
08:49I think Alex has one thing that he feels the trust of everyone, everyone trusts that if we put him
08:58in good position,
08:59he's going to score the goals. But it's not just, I always tell Alex, it's not just okay, you do
09:06the things and I will score.
09:07No, no, you have to help us so we can give you the chances.
09:11You have to give us something so we can give you back, no?
09:15And I think he understands that necessity, that relationship and I hope he can continue on the same level.
09:41I think we've done already, you know, maybe 25 interviews talking about our relationship and I can talk again.
09:51But I think in this moment everyone knows that we were close friends, we grew up together, we played in
09:58the same team,
10:00we played as football players against each other, we played together in the national team in Spain and with the
10:07Basque Country.
10:09But now it's the opposition and we want to beat him and the same way he will do with us.
10:16After the game we can talk, definitely. I said the other day with Inigo and it's the same with Xavi,
10:22you know?
10:23Once we are like playing against each other, therefore the relationship is not good.
10:28Because you kind of stop talking to the other, kind of a respect thing, you know?
10:32But he's a very, very good friend and I wish him all the best, definitely.
10:37Don?
10:38Can I just ask, on Sunday, your reaction at the end of the game?
10:43It looked like you were, when you weren't working in front of the comp.
10:48It was the sort of most enthusiastic you've been.
10:53Do you, just being in Liverpool, do you have to gain your confidence to be Liverpool manager?
10:58Because so much has happened in the first few months, you get players in and you get yourself sort of
11:03done.
11:03Do you finally feel like you're in the role now?
11:05It's not to gain the confidence, I think you have to, I said it since the first day,
11:12the right to belong.
11:14You only get it with good performances, with wins, and this will take time.
11:21But I'm glad because I felt the other day that the supporters helped us a lot.
11:28And they were enjoying it the same way as we were.
11:32And I think the players had a very likable performance in terms of they gave everything,
11:42we were blocking everything, we were tackling, we were fighting, we were winning duels,
11:46we were making the runs behind, those are the things that we want to see,
11:52everyone wants to see, and I enjoyed the other day, yes.
11:57Richard, do you think you feel you've started to win?
12:00Start, yes, I would say start, start.
12:02Still, we need more wins, we need more performances, yes, we need more time.
12:09When you play in a team that has a disciplinary problem like Chelsea,
12:14does that come into your thinking and strategy for coaching them,
12:18thinking like we can wind these up, we can provoke them?
12:20No.
12:21No, you are saying that they have this problem,
12:27no, it's not going to be in our team meeting or nothing, we will not say anything, no.
12:35Just on something you said then about winning the gyros and the tackles,
12:39is that something you spoke to the group specifically about,
12:43that they need to play with a bit more on the physical edge?
12:47Have you sat down in a meeting and said that's what you want your team to look like?
12:52Nowadays I would say it's almost mandatory in the Premier League,
12:55because all the teams are being quite aggressive in terms of not just sitting in a block and waiting for
13:03you.
13:04This doesn't happen.
13:05It happens sometimes in certain games, but not a lot.
13:09Definitely not against teams like Brighton or Villarreal or Chelsea.
13:13No, it's a matter of they want to press, you want to press,
13:17there are going to be not a lot of spaces in the middle.
13:20Every duel, whoever wins the duel probably will have spaces at the back to attack and create chances.
13:26So that aerial duels, that second ball, that arrived a little bit earlier,
13:33nothing in the middle of the pitch is going to be you go against the keeper or we go against
13:37the keeper.
13:37So those duels are mandatory, yes.
13:40But one of the weaknesses of the team, or the difficulties of the team last season was in duels and
13:47second balls,
13:48so is that something you identified since you come in?
13:53No, I will not talk, you want me to talk about past season and this,
13:57but no, I think past season Liverpool was a very good team also.
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