Milos Kerkez warned ahead of Andoni Iraola reunion at Liverpool - '100 miles per hour'

John Arne Riise admits he is still concerned by Milos Kerkez’s frantic style of play - but believes the defender will benefit from reuniting with Andoni Iraola. Kerkez spent two years working with Iraola at Bournemouth, where his impressive displays earned him a £40million transfer to Anfield last summer. Brought in as the long-term replacement for Andy Robertson , Kerkez was among several players who endured a difficult start to the campaign. But by the end of the season, though, he had grown into his role as Liverpool's first-choice left back, with Robertson having now departed the club for Tottenham Hotspur. And although Riise believes reuniting with Iraola will boost Kerkez's confidence, he still has concerns about the full-back's tendency to do everything '100 miles per hour'. “Obviously, Kerkez is a player that I really want to do well,” the former Norway international said, via BestBettingSites.co.uk . “He had an up-and-down season. “I think Andrew Robertson probably could have played even more games because I don't think Kerkez consistently played to his top level. “It's going to give him some more confidence, perhaps, to play under his former manager. But at the same time, I think Kerkez now understands how big a club Liverpool is and how you must perform in every single game. “The one thing with Kerkez that slightly concerns me is that everything seems to happen at 100 miles per hour – the passing, the sprinting, the closing down. Everything just seems so frantic. “I know it's his playing style, but I just hope he can find his best form again because we need our fullbacks to be great defensively while also supporting the attack going forward.” Iraola's appointment as Liverpool’s new head coach was confirmed just six days after the sacking of Arne Slot last month. The Reds moved quickly to replace the Dutchman with the former Bournemouth head coach after identifying him as the ideal candidate for their preferred playing style. Slot was sacked after a troubled Premier League title defence, which saw the Reds lose 19 times in all competitions. But Riise, who made just shy of 350 appearances for the Reds at left-back during his playing days, has warned Iraola that he needs to be challenging for the title this season. He said: “A club like Liverpool needs to challenge for the title, or at least be up there fighting for it and being much closer than last season, while also doing well in the Champions League . “That's the minimum requirement for a manager at the club. Whether he can do it depends on which players come in. “Some of the problems last season stemmed from our most loyal and experienced players not performing to the level they should have over the entire year. “There were so many factors that weren't up to our standards, and those established players need to step up too. They need to be closer and challenge Arsenal and Manchester City for the title.” On the club’s decision to part ways with Slot, Riise continued: “Was it the correct decision to sack Slot? It's a hard one. When it happened, and now in the weeks after, I've been trying to understand what happened at the club. “Initially, I thought they should give Slot the preseason – another preseason with new signings and the players from last season – to try and turn it around. “But I do think there's been too much going on behind the scenes. I have heard rumours that he lost the dressing room a little bit with the players. “Nothing is confirmed, but obviously there has to be something behind it. You can't go from winning the Premier League to a season that is so up and down with so many questionable situations. “I do think maybe he lost the dressing room a little bit, and as soon as a manager loses the dressing room at that level, it's almost impossible to turn things around. “I don't think the club had any other option than to talk to him and see what he thought. I think they handled it mutually, where both parties could see there was no way forward other than to separate. “Now that they've gone for Iraola, I'm happy with the appointment. He's done brilliant things before, and I think we needed something new.” FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook page