Andoni Iraola’s pre-Palace press conference

Andoni Iraola faced the press on Friday, ahead of Sunday’s trip to Crystal Palace.

After losing their last two games – to Arsenal and Fenerbahce, respectively – the Liverpool boss wants to see a much better performance and a return to winning ways in the Premier League.

Here’s his press conference in full…

I know you were asked the other day whether you had an explanation over the penalty incident with Alexander [Isak] against Arsenal. Has has that prompted any contact since then? And if not, how disappointing that you’ve not received any kind of explanation around it?

No, we haven’t received explanation, but this is how it works. No, I’ve just received the conclusion of the panel that I think you also see no from the previous game week. I think it’s against Brighton that nothing happened in our game and we will have to wait 10 I think it’s 10 days no before they they give what whatever they think but no no news.

The build up to the Arsenal game the outside talk was at least of emerging as the major threat to Arsenal in the title race but for the penalty shout I suppose that might still be the case or might have still been the case. Ahead of Palace though the talk seems to be more that you’re fighting for Champions League spots so what’s the feeling in here? How do you deal as well, with those kind of fluctuations, if you like?

I think that’s the challenge, you know, especially in a club like Liverpool. No, one week ago in this press conference, no, we were on a run, everything was in a good place and we were in a in a better mood. And now to be fair, it changes and it has to change and it has to be like this, no, in in clubs like ours. And now we have to react, now, after two defeats. We need the win against Palace away and we’ve been I think in similar situations against I remember Bournemouth before international break even the Brentford game. So we have to go there and do the job and win the game.

Some of the focus it seems after Fenerbahce has been Bradley Barcola playing in that central striking role. How likely are we to see that again, him utilizing that kind of role this season?

No Bradley is a winger. He can mostly has played as a left winger, sometimes as a right winger, but also has played in PSG as a striker. And it’s something that I wanted to try. I thought against their centre-backs, he could be a threat, especially in behind, but he’s a winger and he will be mostly, 90% of the time, used as a winger. But I think it’s alternatives that I sometimes want to try. I know I tried with Cody against Chelsea I think in the Carabao Cup and not maybe from the beginning but it’s true that during the games I think it’s options that we can use know when Alex is is tired and we need another type of striker we can use other strikers that we have but also wingers that can do a job there.

Just one other thing I wanted to mention was just obviously Rio back in the England squad as well kind of a further endorsement as to the way he started the season I suppose.

Yes, is very good very good news for him and very good news for us.  I think he’s always a threat when we can put him in good positions to go against their their their opponents and I think he’s he’s growing and he’s helping us a lot.

In terms of Palace in a difficult moment themselves, what do you make of them? No doubt you you watched him in action last night?

Yes, I think there is a even if they change the manager, there is a continuity in terms of more or less the system is the same. The players are very familiarized with the things that they are trying to do. I was obviously watching the game yesterday. They fight until the end. Even with 10 players, they managed to get a a result in the in the last second. I think it’s a team that has good quality players inside. They put their box there in the middle technically. Warton, Kamala, Jeremy Pin, all the players that can play there. No, their team are good on the on the on the ball. And it’s also is a pitch that is is not the biggest pitch. So you feel quickly under pressure in terms of one throw-in, one long ball, straight away it goes into the boxes. So there is a lot of situations inside the boxes that you have to be very good offensively and defensively.

You talked about your striking options a moment ago. Alexander Isak is second in the Premier League scoring charts. We saw his impact again in midweek. When you think about Alexander Isak at his very best, he struggled to get going here due to injuries and and so on. How far is he off that level? And if he’s not quite there, what more does he need to add to his game to get there?

Alex is a is a top goalscorer. No, if we can put him no in the in the position to score, he will deliver. That’s it’s not a guarantee, but it’s the closest thing of a guarantee almost, no? I think he can, like every player he can add more things to his game. We want to use things that he has. He’s very good also attacking the spaces, attacking the channels, coming to the safe area. I think he’s technically clean also. And we are trying to use him in the in the best way.

And just finally, injuries is Ryan back available any anyone else further along line?

No it’s going to be just the only doubt we will have is Ryan. The others will be the same as we’ve been. Because the Ryan Gravenberch thing is a day-to-day thing it’s a matter of pain and let’s see if he can deal with the pain and he can help us.

Andoni, different competition than in midweek and it’ll be a different lineup I know, but given the defensive issues that you had over in Turkey, what’s it going to take to put that right? And I know you mentioned the stadium noise, but there were some non-negotiables that weren’t actioned for all of the goals, really. What’s it going to take to to sort of put that right and to make sure responsibility is taken individually and collectively?

Yeah, I agree with you in terms that it’s true that the three goals come from set pieces, but it’s not an isolated thing in terms that especially in the Champions League. I think defensively in the league, we’ve been very good, very good, but in the Champions League, we are coming from conceding three against Lask, even if we were winning 6-1 kind of you concede those goals, against Villareal they haven’t punished us before, but there are signs that we have to see there. In the last Champions League games we concede three goals and especially these ones coming from three set plays different I think situations like first goal you turn in the wall that a ball can never go through the wall second goal I think we can definitely defend much better and maybe the last one is the more difficult one in terms of we have the numbers to jump against Murichi. We don’t we don’t beat the the header, but especially first two goals. I think cheap goals that cost us because after to score, I think we have to control the game, arrive well, good plays, good crosses, good finishes, and after to concede those cheap goals, it has punished us.

And at the other end of the pitch, what do you think it’s is going to be able to to get the very best in terms of creativity in the final third and not just with Alexander Isak whose goal scoring record is very good, but still not overly productive in terms of goals overall in the league and still not overly productive in terms of creating chances?

Yeah, I agree. I think it’s been a strange season in terms of in the Champions League we are scoring a lot conceding a lot in the Premier League we are scoring less conceding less, no obviously we want to score a lot and concede less so that’s the the challenge we have. I think it’s a matter of controlling the games but also sometimes we for example the other day against Fenerbahce, I think we were controlling the game sometimes too much. Sometimes we are in possession, we are having good positions arriving but sometimes we have to throw numbers inside the box, arrive with more players. Will take us little bit of control, yes, but will give us more threat the times we arrive and I think especially against Arsenal the way we attack the box has to be better.

You mentioned sort of the the change in mood over the past week and it it does feel like that there is some big reactions one way or another. So, how important is it for you guys and and for the fans as well to remember that this is the start of a process. You’ve not been here for very long and and how easy is it to sort of keep that noise away from from the squad?

Yeah, I agree. And it’s not easy in the moment, because we react the same way. You know when we lose a game everyone is angry and we want to, but we have to have some some perspective and we know in the process we’ll go up and downs will be and we have to get through through this moment. We would love not to have good performances wins good results but normally it doesn’t happen, there are moments where you are in a good run like we were before Arsenal. Now you lose two games and there are always doubts there are but we have to I understand if as a supporter, I would do the same. You know, it’s normal. But the ones that are here and and we work every day and we know what what we are doing. We are not as as bad as we look today. We were not as good as we looked one week ago and we have to have some perspective and this is part of my challenge also in terms of mood for the group. You know, like obviously we need to correct things, especially the other day that cost us the the goals on set plays, but we still are are doing good things.

There a statistic during the round from Opta this week that suggested Liverpool have conceded the most fouls of any other any team in the Premier League this season. Also have won the third fewest. Do you think that’s a fair reflection? You feel that you’re being refereed fairly at the moment?

I don’t want to talk too much about referees. I think we are quite an honest group, sometimes too honest sometimes. And even the other day after the game, I think the referee congratulate us that I don’t know if I liked a lot or not, but he said like our behavior had been very good overall from the players, from the staff. I think has to be genuine, no? You cannot fake things when we complain has to be genuine complaints because I think it’s a penalty, it’s a yellow card, is whatever. And I feel we are willing obviously we are a team that wants to press, wants to to be intense, but I think the the balance there is there is a big difference, yes.

I wanted to go back to the attacking efficiency. Something you said there about the balance between having control and being a bit more decisive throwing people forward. In the Premier League, you’ve actually been one of the best teams in the league at taking shots, at having chances, but it’s those big chances, the really obvious chances that you have been struggling with. I wonder how much of that is down to players not necessarily understanding the process and how much of that is just decision-making between knowing when to shoot and knowing when to maybe look for a better shot.

Yes, I agree completely because if you see, we are one of the teams that arrives more to the last third even in terms of volume of shots, of crosses. So we are there very high, but we are, if you analyze the the quality level of every chance, because also we have quite a lot the quality level is low. It’s a matter of sometimes we are especially when we start losing games attacking against a lot of opposition. So, it’s not going to be sometimes the quality of the chance if you have players around is always lower. But still, I think we have to do more with the number of times we arrive to the opposition box. I think we have to arrive better inside the box. I think that’s why I said sometimes even if we lose some control we have to arrive sometimes to the six-yard box because we arrive to the box but not to the so we have more kind of statistically more clear shots, I think.

Is that part of the reason why you’re so emphasizing the starts of games because once you’re in the lead you’re maybe a little bit calmer, you’re able to make those decisions easier?

Yes. Yes. Yes. For me, everything is a lot easier when you start winning games because you are ahead. There is normally more spaces you can attack. That’s why the other day we went twice ahead and we had because I’ve been analyzing know I think we had one possession after the first goal and two possessions of the ball only after the second goal. So we didn’t have time to play with the advantage of going ahead. Straight away it’s two free kicks and they score from two free kicks, one free kick and then the free kick goes to the corner, but we haven’t been ahead as much.