Iraola must get Reds strikers up with the PACE

NEW BOSS MUST REPEAT CHERRIES' TRICK OF GETTING BEST OUT OF HIS STRIKERS AT ANFIELD

- By PAUL GORST

LIVERPOOL were given around six months notice by Jurgen Klopp before their search for a successor took them to the Rotterdam offices of Arne Slot in 2024.

With the then boss having told owners Fenway Sports Group of his intentions in November 2023, the club's leadership team had enough time to plan and plot a way out of the enormous shadow cast by the uniquely charismatic Klopp during his nine years on Merseyside.

An exhaustive search left no stone unturned in their pursuit of a successor following a hugely successful period for the club and Feyenoord coach Slot finished on top of most metrics during the fiercely data-led process.

On top of the raw numbers, the graphs and the spider diagrams, character references were also sought from as many contacts as possible and, at one point, FSG’s technical director Julian Ward was dispatched to the Netherlands to observe Slot up close, using the pretext that he was merely studying how different clubs operate across European football.

Ward's clandestine, fact-finding mission only emboldened Liverpool's belief that Slot was the right candidate for the job. And by the time Klopp was in his final day on the job, in May 2024, he was on the Anfield turf chanting the name of the man who was replacing him.

Two years later, Liverpool had neither the luxury of time nor the clarity to effectively plan for the departure of Slot, who was sacked in surprise circumstances on the morning of Saturday May 30. And while it is insisted other candidates were assessed, the speed at which Andoni Iraola replaced the jettisoned Slot was breakneck.