Iraola set to end Liverpool's rest-day culture if appointed as Slot's successor

Andoni Iraola is the frontrunner to become Liverpool’s next manager following Arne Slot’s sacking, and his appointment would bring a significant cultural shift to the club’s training ground: far fewer days off for players.

Granting generous downtime between fixtures was a hallmark of Slot’s tenure at Anfield. Iraola operates on an entirely different philosophy. During his time at Bournemouth, the Spaniard was known to go weeks without giving players a rest day — an approach that initially shocked his squad but ultimately contributed to the club’s rise up the Premier League table.

Former Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo offered a candid account of life under Iraola during an appearance on the In The Mixer podcast in April. “The way he structured the weeks, we didn’t really have any days off, nothing,” said the Ghana international. “It’s very hard going from having Wednesday and Sunday off to having no days off. We would play on the Saturday, train on Sunday. The players that were in the starting XI would do like the first maybe 30, 40 minutes of the session, so you’re hanging, your legs have gone.”

Semenyo added that the relentless schedule remained in place throughout his time at the club. “Even now, it hasn’t changed — some of the boys are like, ‘No day off this week again’ in the group chat. It still hasn’t changed!”

The contrast with Slot’s methods is stark. High-intensity training was a defining feature of Jürgen Klopp’s trophy-laden reign at Anfield, but that ethos softened considerably after Slot’s arrival in April 2024. The Dutch coach’s relaxed approach raised few eyebrows during his debut season, in which Liverpool won the Premier League and came close to a quadruple. However, as standards dropped in his second campaign, the culture of frequent breaks — including Slot himself taking trips to Ibiza and Dubai during downtime — drew criticism from sections of the fanbase.

Iraola’s path at Bournemouth was not without turbulence. He came close to losing his job early in his tenure at the Vitality Stadium, but his demanding training methods eventually paid off as the club established themselves as a consistent top-half Premier League side.

For Liverpool supporters who grew accustomed to the relentless pressing and physical commitment of the Klopp era, Iraola’s appointment would represent a return to that harder-edged culture — even if the players themselves may need time to adjust.