{"id":1038526,"date":"2026-06-20T09:35:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T09:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1038526\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T09:35:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T09:35:24","slug":"those-days-are-gone-jamie-carragher-sets-out-early-andoni-iraola-challenge-at-liverpool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1038526\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Those days are gone’ – Jamie Carragher sets out early Andoni Iraola challenge at Liverpool"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher discusses Andoni Iraola’s appointment at Anfield and sets out an early challenge for the new boss<\/p>\n

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher discusses Andoni Iraola’s appointment on Sky Sports at Royal Ascot, June 2026<\/p>\n

Jamie Carragher believes Andoni Iraola has to challenge for the Premier League<\/a> title this coming season at Liverpool.<\/p>\n

And the Reds legend says he is excited by the brand of football former Bournemouth boss Iraola is going to bring to Anfield<\/a> as he paid tribute to Arne Slot, who was sacked three weeks ago.<\/p>\n

Slot led Liverpool to a fifth-place finish, which secured Champions League<\/a> qualification on the final day of the term but 20 defeats across all competitions saw the Dutchman relieved of his duties<\/a> after an end-of-season review on May 30<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Iraola, who led Bournemouth to sixth, was quickly installed as Slot’s successor, penning a two-year deal after leaving the Vitality Stadium at the end of the campaign and Carragher, who won the 2005 Champions League during his 737-game career at Anfield, is optimistic about the new coach’s chances of success.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

OPINION<\/p>\n

“Listen, he’s done an amazing job since he’s come into the Premier League to Bournemouth and I don’t think anyone doesn’t watch them and isn’t excited when they watch them,” Carragher told Sky Sports at Royal Ascot this week.<\/p>\n

“Or if I’ve got a game for Sky and it’s Bournemouth, I think: ‘OK, I’ll look forward to that.’ It’s that all-action style, probably a little bit what we saw from England (against Croatia on Wednesday night), really aggressive, getting the ball forward really early.<\/p>\n

“It’s maybe a bit of a throwback to Jurgen Klopp’s days at Liverpool and a slightly different style than Arne Slot.<\/p>\n

“But as I say, I always want to say this with any Liverpool manager and yes, Arne Slot got a lot of criticism last season and I can’t argue and I don’t think he can too much with the change because it was so poor last season.<\/p>\n

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“But we shouldn’t forget: he won Liverpool the Premier League last season and I’ll never forget that, so a big thank you to him. And hopefully that’s the goal [next season].<\/p>\n

“Can they challenge? Yes. Those days are gone from when I played when managers came in and it was like a four or five-year project to try and win the league or come close to winning the league.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose days are gone and I said that when Arne Slot came in. You know, Jurgen Klopp<\/a>\u2019s team finished third, you\u2019ve got to go for the league and he won the league, and it\u2019s the same with Iraola.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiverpool finished fifth last season, nowhere near good enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I\u2019m not expecting Liverpool to win the league next season, but we are Liverpool, we\u2019re going to spend big in the summer, we\u2019ve got a lot of great players and yeah, we\u2019re gonna challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iraola will begin his Liverpool career in the Premier League with a visit to Newcastle United on Sunday, August 23.<\/p>\n

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