During the pre-season preparation in Chicago, Liverpool head coach Iraola attended a press conference. This article covers the second half of the press conference.

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Andoni, you now have Alexander-Isak. How important will he be? Given that he was injured for a long time last season, do you need to be a little more cautious with him?

Yes, Alexander, I think he returned in very good condition. I think he performed well in the World Cup, and in his first training session here, I saw him adapt well. I think I've already seen Alexander in good form. Of course, it's still very early, as we've just started training, but I hope he can get some playing time against Leeds United and build up a proper and good pre-season tactical preparation. Although it won't be very long, I hope he can have three to four weeks of high-quality training, so we can get him into good shape, because he will be crucial for us this season.

Hi, Andoni, regarding Joe Gomez, when you say "a few weeks," is that a worrying problem? Does it mean many weeks, a few weeks, or even months, or just a very short few weeks?

No, it's not a particularly serious injury, not a major injury. It's hard to give a specific day, but usually, you know, I always estimate about a month. If the recovery goes very, very well, the injury time might be a bit shorter; if it's a bit more severe, it will take longer. But it's a muscle injury, not serious, a normal muscle strain. I think it will be impossible for him to be ready for the start of the season, because there's not much time left until the season starts, but it shouldn't drag on for too long either.

Following up on that, obviously, like every Premier League manager, you've had a difficult summer because of the World Cup. The last time we spoke to you, you said there were some players you hadn't even properly met yet. I'm just wondering, with the transfer deadline continuing until early September, will we still have to wait a few more weeks to see the team you expect, the squad you expect, and the team playing in the way you expect?

Very likely, very likely, but that's not because I want to see players too late, or because we'll sign players late. Even when all players are in place during pre-season, these things always take some time when there's a change of head coach. No, I would also like to say, "On day one, we'll be perfect, everyone will be in their place," but that's probably not how it will be. No, we have to adapt tactically as quickly as possible.

I personally particularly dislike the month of August, because you've already started official matches, but you still don't know if players will leave, or who will join. There's too much uncertainty. It's very difficult to build a perfectly proper team with so many question marks. But that's how it is, it's the same for all teams, every season. And I personally really enjoy when September 1st arrives – everything is settled, "This is our squad, and we'll build from here." But we have to deal with this period in August, and I think many coaches – if not all – don't like this month much.

Yes, following on from that, obviously, the match against Newcastle United is not far away. If you had to go into that match with the current group of players, would you be satisfied with that? And during this tour, has any player surprised you, perhaps even making you reconsider whether to re-enter the transfer market?

Yes, many players have surprised me, especially the young players I didn't know before. Because the senior players in the first team, you've played against them before, and you know more or less about them. But many young players have shown a very high level in these friendly matches, a very, very high level, and they still have room for growth, which is always a very good thing.

At the same time, we will also welcome back players, you know, it doesn't mean it would be a good thing if we started the game against Newcastle United with the same starting lineup as yesterday's match. We will certainly welcome back some players – very important players, because they participated in the World Cup, and they were the ones who took on more responsibility in previous seasons.

Now this is a challenge: we have completed a phase of work with the group of players who have been here for the past two weeks, and now we must gradually and progressively integrate the newly returned players. But our advantage is that we have some players who more or less know where we are heading, and they can also help in this process.

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