July 13 (Reuters) - New Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola said he was impatient to sign more new players as the Premier League side set out to improve on last season's campaign.
Liverpool, who finished fifth last season, have so far signed centre-back Jeremy Jacquet from Stade Rennais and winger Victor Munoz from Osasuna ahead of the 2026-27 season.
"Obviously, we have signed two players already but we need more players. We know this. The club is working on this," Iraola said at his first press conference as manager on Monday.
"Me, as a coach, selfishly, we want the players here from day one to train from pre-season. But we know football doesn’t work like this. The club is working hard to get those signings."
LIFE WITHOUT SALAH
The Spaniard, who joined Liverpool in June after Dutchman Arne Slot was sacked, faces the challenge of reviving the side's fortunes while also having to cope withoutMo Salah, their primary source of goals for much of the past decade.
He also acknowledged that he would have to find solutions to coping with the long-term injuries to Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni.
A former Spain international who played for Athletic Bilbao between 2003 and 2015, Iraola took charge of Bournemouth in 2023 and last season guided them to sixth place in the Premier League and into the Europa League.
At the south-coast club, he garnered praise for implementing a high-pressing, progressive style of football, centred on attacking swiftly.
Iraola, 44, said he might have to adapt some aspects of his approach in his new role, the highest-profile job of his managerial career, after speaking with the Liverpool players and staff about what had worked well in the past for them and what could be improved.
"I think it is different. I have the advantage that the players probably already know what we are going to demand in terms of style of play.
"But we will have time to know each other. It is one thing to know a player, to ask him what positions they feel comfortable (in), where they see themselves – because I am asking them these questions.
"But after I see them, I will do some tests in pre-season, I will feel things and I will take decisions from there."
Iraola said he understood the gravity of his new role and was ready for it.
"I want to think so, I understand. Until I go through certain experiences, I will not fully know.
"I am here to experience those situations, I am ready for it. I understand this is a massive experience. Everything I say will be under scrutiny and you have to be aware of mistakes.
"I wouldn't like to be too careful, I am not going to live in a bubble."
Liverpool begin the new season away to Newcastle on August 23.
(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon)
