What did Alexis Mac Allister say about Andoni Iraola?

He said Iraola resolved the issues that had been left in the Liverpool squad, and that something was not right during Arne Slot's time in charge.

What was wrong at Liverpool under Arne Slot?

Mac Allister has not identified the problem. He described it only in general terms, and no detail about training, tactics or results has been attached to the remark.

Is Andoni Iraola Liverpool's manager?

Mac Allister's comments treat Iraola as the man in charge at Anfield and Slot as his predecessor, and nothing in the remarks suggests otherwise.

Has Liverpool commented on Mac Allister's remarks?

No public response from Liverpool, Iraola or Slot has been given. The club has not issued a statement addressing the midfielder's description of the earlier period.

Football

Alexis Mac Allister credits Andoni Iraola with fixing Liverpool's problems

The Liverpool midfielder says the issues he felt under Arne Slot have been resolved, without saying what those issues were.

By Sportsback1h ago

Ank kumar · CC BY-SA 4.0

Alexis Mac Allister has said that Andoni Iraola fixed what was wrong inside the Liverpool squad, tracing the problem back to the period when Arne Slot was in charge. His comments, reported on Wednesday, describe a change felt within the group rather than one measured only in results.

Mac Allister put the earlier trouble in general terms, saying that something was not right while Slot was at the club. What he meant by it has not been spelled out. The remark could cover training, tactics, the mood around the squad or the run of results, and he has not publicly chosen between them.

Mac Allister's assessment

The comments set the two managers in sequence. Iraola is credited not with a signing or a single performance but with repairing a group, which is a claim about the daily work at a club rather than about one afternoon. Slot, by implication, left something behind that needed mending, though the midfielder has not said what.

Why the comments carry weight

Footballers rarely give a public verdict on the manager they last played for. When one does, it travels. A player's account is not a club statement, but it shapes how both spells are read: the new manager's early months and the old manager's legacy.

It also gives supporters a reference point. A poor run under Iraola can now be set against a period that one of the players has publicly described as not right, a comparison that will be made whether or not it is fair to either man.

What is not yet known

Which specific problems Mac Allister believes Iraola has solved.
When and where he made the remarks, and whether he intends to say more.
Whether Liverpool, Iraola or Slot will respond publicly.
When the managerial change took place and how Slot's spell at the club ended.
Whether other players in the squad share his view of the two regimes.

Until some of that is filled in, the remarks stand as one player's account, so far unchallenged in public by anyone at Anfield.

What happens next

The next move belongs to the club and to Iraola. A manager is normally asked about his squad's mood at his next scheduled appearance in front of journalists, and a short answer there would decide whether this becomes a running theme of Liverpool's season or a single line from an interview.

Mac Allister will be asked to expand the next time he speaks. The practical effect on the pitch is small; the effect on how Iraola's work is described is not. Liverpool's improvement now has a player's explanation attached to it, and explanations are harder to walk back than form is.

Frequently asked questions

What did Alexis Mac Allister say about Andoni Iraola?: He said Iraola resolved the issues that had been left in the Liverpool squad, and that something was not right during Arne Slot's time in charge.
What was wrong at Liverpool under Arne Slot?: Mac Allister has not identified the problem. He described it only in general terms, and no detail about training, tactics or results has been attached to the remark.
Is Andoni Iraola Liverpool's manager?: Mac Allister's comments treat Iraola as the man in charge at Anfield and Slot as his predecessor, and nothing in the remarks suggests otherwise.
Has Liverpool commented on Mac Allister's remarks?: No public response from Liverpool, Iraola or Slot has been given. The club has not issued a statement addressing the midfielder's description of the earlier period.