ANDONI Iraola outlined the key characteristics Cherries will have to show if they are to repeat the trick of his Rayo Vallecano side and topple one of the league’s giants.
Last season whilst coaching in La Liga, Iraola masterminded home victories over both Real Madrid and Barcelona, as well as picking up points at the Nou Camp and away to Atletico Madrid.
Iraola faces his first elite English side this weekend, taking Cherries to Anfield to face Liverpool, a ground in which the club have never won at before.
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Asked what the key messages will be he will pass on to his Cherries players ahead of such a test, having enjoyed success in similar fixtures in Spain, Iraola told the Daily Echo: “I think there is a starting point that it is not to be afraid.
“Knowing all the threats they have, that they have a lot of threats. They have very good players. Know that you will suffer.
“But the key is to give you an option. Know that you have to run a lot. You have to mentally be very hard, because they will have chances.
“For sure at Anfield there will be two, three, four minutes where we are clearance, clearance, corner, defend set-pieces and for sure we will have our chances also.
“You will always have hard moments in these stadiums, but we will have good moments also.
“We have to try to make them (Liverpool) think in one point of the game it’s not going to be easy and we also have to defend and have to run backwards. We will try to do this.”
He added: “They will want to control the game, dictate the game, have all the chances, push us inside our box and this is the game they want to play for sure. If we go high, also attack our high line.
“So we have to be smart. There will be moments where we can push and be really high, there will be moments where we have to stay low and compact and suffer together.
“We need to make the right decisions when to be more aggressive, when to be more compact. That’s the key.”
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