It’s the start of a new era at Liverpool.The sacking of head coach Arne Slot and the subsequent appointment of Andoni Iraola has led to a significant overhaul of the backroom staff.Coaches Sipke Hulshoff, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Ruben Peeters, as well as first-team tactical analyst Roderick van der Ham, all followed Slot out of the club. Van Bronckhorst has since taken over at Dutch side Feyenoord with Hulshoff as his assistant.After an agreement was reached with Bournemouth regarding compensation, it was confirmed that Iraola is bringing four trusted staff members with him from the south coast. Tommy Elphick and Shaun Cooper have joined Liverpool as first-team coaches with Pablo de la Torre as an assistant coach, and Tom Webber as first-team tactical analyst.The Athletic takes a look at what responsibilities they will each take on and why Iraola rates them so highly.Tommy ElphickThe former Bournemouth captain is a lifelong Liverpool fan who could have launched a managerial career of his own this summer. The 38-year-old coach turned down the opportunity to take over at Championship outfit Bristol City before following Iraola to Anfield.“Tommy and Shaun are often bracketed together but if anyone is Iraola’s right-hand man, then it’s Tommy,” says Alexander Smith, senior sports reporter for the Bournemouth Echo.“Tactically astute and popular with the players, he acts as a good foil for Iraola, who is a more intense character. When Iraola was banned from the touchline, it was Tommy who took on extra responsibilities in his absence.“They struck up a really good understanding during their three years together at Bournemouth. Iraola is very hands-on in terms of leading training sessions and a very good communicator, but he always values the input of other coaches. Towards the end of the season, Iraola was saying that Tommy was ready to go and become a manager in his own right, but it’s no surprise that he wanted him alongside him at Liverpool.”Tommy Elphick on the touchline as Bournemouth take on West Ham in February (James Fearn/Getty Images)Elphick started his playing career at Brighton & Hove Albion’s academy and progressed through the ranks to become first-team captain. The centre-back also wore the armband after moving to Bournemouth, helping Eddie Howe’s side win promotion to the Premier League for the first time in their history in 2015.Following spells at Aston Villa and Huddersfield Town, he retired in 2021 and returned to Bournemouth to take on a coaching role with their development squad. He was promoted to the senior setup under Gary O’Neil during 2022-23 and remained in place after the appointment of Iraola in June 2023.Is Andoni Iraola the next Jurgen Klopp?Jon Mackenzie“Andoni’s greatest strength is his consistent behaviour, delivery and messaging,” Elphick told the Premier League website in 2024. “The belief he has in his coaching is so strong. It never wavers.“I’m the one with the loud voice, so when the manager’s voice runs out, he nudges me to go and say what needs to be said. As a player, I needed to bring energy, and it’s the same now. I really resonate with Andoni and the way he wants his team to play with emotion, and he places a lot of emphasis on spirit.”Andoni Iraola has forged a strong working relationship with Tommy Elphick (Warren Little/Getty Images)Shaun CooperLike Elphick, Cooper started out as a coach in Bournemouth’s academy before being promoted to the first-team staff by O’Neil and then being retained by Iraola.“Initially, the plan three years ago was for Iraola to bring Inigo Perez (the current manager of Villarreal) with him from Rayo Vallecano as his assistant, but he couldn’t get a work permit in the UK,” Smith explains.“That meant both Tommy and Shaun kept their jobs, and it worked out for the best given the contribution they both made to such a successful period, culminating in Bournemouth securing European qualification for the first time last season.”Cooper is a set-piece specialist who earned plaudits for some of the routines he came up with at Bournemouth. One helped secure a shock 2-0 win over Arsenal in 2024-25 when Lewis Cook’s corner was flicked by Justin Kuivert into the path of Ryan Christie, who emphatically fired home.“It was a move off the training ground,” Christie told reporters. “Credit to Shaun Cooper. He’s coming up with loads of different set pieces. He has new ones for us to try each game.”Shaun Cooper and then-Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil on the touchline at a game against Brentford in 2023 (Clive Rose/Getty Images)Bournemouth scored 20 set-piece goals in the Premier League in 2025-26, but defending them was an issue, with 26 conceded. For context, Liverpool, who sacked set-piece coach Aaron Briggs last December, scored 19 and conceded 23 in the top flight last term.“Set pieces weren’t as impressive last season but it didn’t help that Bournemouth had lost a fair amount of height following the departures of Ilya Zabarnyi and Dean Huijsen,” says Smith.“Often, they were just being outjumped by bigger teams and, during a winless 11-game run in the middle of the season, it cost them. However, it’s testament to the coaching staff that they managed to find solutions and pretty much fixed that problem towards the back end of the season, which contributed to them going 18 games unbeaten.“Shaun was well-respected; not only by Iraola but in the dressing room too. Bournemouth hoped that both Tommy and Shaun might stay on under Marco Rose, but they’re both club legends and leave with everyone’s best wishes.”Cooper’s playing days started at Portsmouth, where current Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes was one of his team-mates. He joined Bournemouth in 2005 and went on to make 240 appearances for the club across seven years.After retiring in 2017, Cooper was brought back to Bournemouth by Howe and impressed as he helped to develop young talent through his work with the under-18 and under-21 squads.Shaun Cooper challenges Huddersfield’s Benik Afobe during his playing days at Bournemouth (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)Pablo de la TorreThe Spanish fitness coach has a close bond with Iraola, which goes back to their time working together in Cyprus at AEK Larnaca eight years ago. They were reunited at Rayo Vallecano in 2020 and De la Torre then followed Iraola to Bournemouth in 2023.“Pablo is a fiery character and isn’t afraid to express his feelings,” says Smith. “Expect him to pick up a few bookings for his protests on the bench. He’s massively trusted by Iraola and so important in terms of ensuring the squad can cope with the physical demands of playing his brand of football.“It’s intense, the way he wants his team to press and stay on the front foot. Being able to sustain that for 90 minutes isn’t easy. At Liverpool, there’s going to be the added workload of Champions League football. Pablo will have a big part to play, especially over the course of pre-season.”De la Torre spoke to Spanish sports newspaper Diario AS last month about how they had transformed Bournemouth’s fortunes with 12th, ninth and sixth=placed Premier League finishes. Describing Iraola in four words, he opted for honesty, sincerity, humility and respect.“The key is building a game model and team identity, where players truly believe in the coach’s idea,” he said. “He builds brave teams capable of believing they can beat anyone. He’s incredibly intelligent, leads by example, and has a rare emotional stability in such a visceral sport.“From day one, you sense he’s different — his ability to read the game and its needs is almost unique. He filters information so players can digest it easily and apply it every week.”Pablo de la Torre celebrates with Bournemouth’s Ryan Christie and Ben Gannon-Doak (Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)Tom WebberWebber moves to Merseyside after a decade of service as a performance analyst at Bournemouth.The University of Birmingham graduate had previously gained experience with short spells at Birmingham City and Leicester City. Having impressed Iraola with his work, he was promoted to the role of senior first-team performance analyst two years ago.“Taking Tom to Liverpool makes a lot of sense in terms of completing the group,” adds Smith. “He will complement the analysts Liverpool already have.“Iraola has a good connection with him and it means there’s continuity in terms of having all the people around him that he felt helped him to do such a good job at Bournemouth. The messaging will be consistent.”