Iraola on Mamardashvili starting, squad rotation and the 'collective' effort

Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola has been speaking to the media before Tuesday's Carabao Cup game against Tottenham at Anfield (kick-off 20:00 BST). Here are the key lines from his news conference: Giorgi Mamardashvili will start in goal against Spurs. Defender Joe Gomez, who has been out with injury since July, is back training with the team and will be available. Connor Bradley, who has been recovering from a knee injury since January, is not close to training with the team, but is touching the ball in individual training - Iraola expects Giovanni Leoni to return first. Iraola suggested that Tuesday's team will feature players who we have not seen play before. On squad rotation, he said he is still learning about his players and their capacity to deal with a busy fixture schedule: "There are players who play every three days with no issues. They are very robust, their performances don't change too much. There are other players where the risk is bigger and the performances are different." Iraola is "frustrated" that his team took a "step backwards" against Fulham after stepping forward in their wins over Ipswich Town and Atletico Madrid, but noted: "We have to accept there are going to be ups and downs in this process." He observed that the main issue against Fulham was that his players recovered the ball "a lot lower" on the pitch: "This is key in our system, to recover the ball as high as possible because it makes the offensive side a lot easier. Situations to attack in one-v-ones, or against fewer [players], are less [frequent] if you recover [the ball] in your half of the pitch." When a reporter asked whether the issue around ball recovery and duels could be fixed by coaching, Iraola insisted that it is a "collective" effort - not just the responsibility of his midfielders: "When the team plays well, everyone looks better. The key is that we all play collectively well. Everyone looks smarter and in a better position." He continued, explaining how on paper, defenders are made to look better when attacking team-mates are defending well from the front: "If the players in front of you are doing their job, the defenders and midfielders will win more duels because they are easier duels. The ball arrives not in the best condition and then you have more chances to win duels." Asked about rumoured discussion between Virgil van Dijk and the Netherlands' national team manager Xavi regarding the future of the defender's international career, Iraola confirmed that he had spoken with them both but the contents of these conversations was private. Hit play above to hear more from Iraola or listen on BBC Sounds here You can listen to full commentary of Liverpool v Spurs on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds on Tuesday Got a question about Liverpool? Get in touch here and we'll seek answers from our experts [BBC]