Pako Ayesteran sets an uphill challenge for Liverpool's stars
THERE’S a mound of turf at Melwood which the Liverpool stars have dubbed ‘Pako Hill’.
As metaphors for the last three years at Anfield go, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better one than the sight of the team regularly struggling to reach its peak.
When Rafa Benitez’s chief lieutenant, Pako Ayesteran, created the training aid – a man-made hill which players pound up and down – he visualised Liverpool becoming the fittest team in the world.
He said: "Every year we're trying to improve the facilities, and the peak is another way of doing this. There are three. One is is 34m long with a gradiant of 5. The other is 24m with a gradient of 5. Another is 70m long."
As someone disinterested in plaudits, it’s no surprise he dismisses any suggestion he’s near to achieving his goal.
It was once said of one of Ayesteran’s legendary predecessors, Ronnie Moran, that no matter how much hype surrounded Liverpool’s progress, he could be relied upon to provide the reality check and demand much more.
Ayesteran is cut from the same cloth. He’s a confessed sceptic when it comes to assessing his team’s current standing.
Despite welcoming a series of leaps in the right direction, he maintains Liverpool will only be ready to make the final step with a fundamental change in the psychology of the club.
“We have to change the culture surrounding Liverpool,” says Ayesteran. “All of us have responsibility, from the coaching staff, the players, the board and the supporters.
“The change I’m talking about is a mental one. I’m not sure if Liverpool is ready to accept change, and this could be our biggest obstacle to taking our next step.
“Everyone needs to accept there are too many games in England but everyone says every competition is important, but I don’t agree with that.
“If we expect the same players to start in every competition, we can not be successful. We would be able to get more from all the players in the most important games if it was recognised a club of Liverpool’s size should not see all these competitions as important.
“Also, in English football too much is made of starting with the same 11 each week.
“It would be fantastic for the board if this was possible. We could use just 11 players every season and not have tospend money to have a 23 man squad.
“Some players have had too much pressure on them for too long. When we arrived, people were saying how in the years before Stevie (Gerrard) had to carry too much responsibility for the team on and off the park. This was not fair on him or his team mates.
“To be successful, you can’t be looking to the same individuals all the time. It has to be group effort.”
Ayesteran senses danger if too much is anticipated in the months to come.
“I’m not thinking in terms of expectations for this season,” he says. “To have a winning team is a process. If you have to sign six players in the summer, I don’t think it’s a good situation if you want to win the title.
“I’ve never seen a major transformation in any team within a year. Even when we won La Liga with Valencia for the first time, the side had been improving gradually in the years earlier.
“Manchester United did not win the title because of last year. They won it because they’ve improved over three years and earned their reward, buying just two or three players each season.
“First we must put ourselves in a position where we can see ourselves winning the Premier. I don’t think we are in that position yet, so that’s the first ambition.
“Can Liverpool say it has been close to the league in the last five years? No. Of course we have to believe we can be close, but I think to expect to win it this season would be a big mistake.
“Sometimes when you react to big expectations you make decisions to get quick results when you should be thinking over the medium and long term.
“That also leads to mistakes. This is where Manchester United have done things properly.
“Winning the Champions League in our first season increased expectations on us, but we were not a great team. You only have to get through 11 games to win that competition.”
No doubt Ayesteran’s brutal assessment will be interpreted in some quarters as negative.
He refutes this, insisting he’s being realistic for the club’s own good.
“As a group, we are all thinking positively,” he insists. “That’s how you get the best from everyone. Whether positive thinking alone is enough, I don’t know, but whatever the situation you can be certain we’ll all be working hard.
“The spine of our team is as good as any in the league. I wouldn’t change the spine of our team with that of Chelsea or Manchester United. The rest of the squad is where we need to improve and that will determine how close we can go, but the new players must also be given time.
“We’re on the way to where we want to be and we have more solutions now thanwe did three years ago, but people must realise there’s still a way to go.”
Until then, Liverpool’s players will still be trying to reach that elusive summit.
“It was Robbie Fowler who first called the area of Melwood Pako Hill, or Pako Peak. I tried to get the players to work with me for a week to build it, but they wouldn’t!” laughed the assistant boss.
As long as Ayesteran keeps leading them up it, Liverpool may eventually hit the heights they’re craving.
A super fit(not in a gay way) squad is essential if we are to challenge on all fronts this season
THERE’S a mound of turf at Melwood which the Liverpool stars have dubbed ‘Pako Hill’.
As metaphors for the last three years at Anfield go, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better one than the sight of the team regularly struggling to reach its peak.
When Rafa Benitez’s chief lieutenant, Pako Ayesteran, created the training aid – a man-made hill which players pound up and down – he visualised Liverpool becoming the fittest team in the world.
He said: "Every year we're trying to improve the facilities, and the peak is another way of doing this. There are three. One is is 34m long with a gradiant of 5. The other is 24m with a gradient of 5. Another is 70m long."
As someone disinterested in plaudits, it’s no surprise he dismisses any suggestion he’s near to achieving his goal.
It was once said of one of Ayesteran’s legendary predecessors, Ronnie Moran, that no matter how much hype surrounded Liverpool’s progress, he could be relied upon to provide the reality check and demand much more.
Ayesteran is cut from the same cloth. He’s a confessed sceptic when it comes to assessing his team’s current standing.
Despite welcoming a series of leaps in the right direction, he maintains Liverpool will only be ready to make the final step with a fundamental change in the psychology of the club.
“We have to change the culture surrounding Liverpool,” says Ayesteran. “All of us have responsibility, from the coaching staff, the players, the board and the supporters.
“The change I’m talking about is a mental one. I’m not sure if Liverpool is ready to accept change, and this could be our biggest obstacle to taking our next step.
“Everyone needs to accept there are too many games in England but everyone says every competition is important, but I don’t agree with that.
“If we expect the same players to start in every competition, we can not be successful. We would be able to get more from all the players in the most important games if it was recognised a club of Liverpool’s size should not see all these competitions as important.
“Also, in English football too much is made of starting with the same 11 each week.
“It would be fantastic for the board if this was possible. We could use just 11 players every season and not have tospend money to have a 23 man squad.
“Some players have had too much pressure on them for too long. When we arrived, people were saying how in the years before Stevie (Gerrard) had to carry too much responsibility for the team on and off the park. This was not fair on him or his team mates.
“To be successful, you can’t be looking to the same individuals all the time. It has to be group effort.”
Ayesteran senses danger if too much is anticipated in the months to come.
“I’m not thinking in terms of expectations for this season,” he says. “To have a winning team is a process. If you have to sign six players in the summer, I don’t think it’s a good situation if you want to win the title.
“I’ve never seen a major transformation in any team within a year. Even when we won La Liga with Valencia for the first time, the side had been improving gradually in the years earlier.
“Manchester United did not win the title because of last year. They won it because they’ve improved over three years and earned their reward, buying just two or three players each season.
“First we must put ourselves in a position where we can see ourselves winning the Premier. I don’t think we are in that position yet, so that’s the first ambition.
“Can Liverpool say it has been close to the league in the last five years? No. Of course we have to believe we can be close, but I think to expect to win it this season would be a big mistake.
“Sometimes when you react to big expectations you make decisions to get quick results when you should be thinking over the medium and long term.
“That also leads to mistakes. This is where Manchester United have done things properly.
“Winning the Champions League in our first season increased expectations on us, but we were not a great team. You only have to get through 11 games to win that competition.”
No doubt Ayesteran’s brutal assessment will be interpreted in some quarters as negative.
He refutes this, insisting he’s being realistic for the club’s own good.
“As a group, we are all thinking positively,” he insists. “That’s how you get the best from everyone. Whether positive thinking alone is enough, I don’t know, but whatever the situation you can be certain we’ll all be working hard.
“The spine of our team is as good as any in the league. I wouldn’t change the spine of our team with that of Chelsea or Manchester United. The rest of the squad is where we need to improve and that will determine how close we can go, but the new players must also be given time.
“We’re on the way to where we want to be and we have more solutions now thanwe did three years ago, but people must realise there’s still a way to go.”
Until then, Liverpool’s players will still be trying to reach that elusive summit.
“It was Robbie Fowler who first called the area of Melwood Pako Hill, or Pako Peak. I tried to get the players to work with me for a week to build it, but they wouldn’t!” laughed the assistant boss.
As long as Ayesteran keeps leading them up it, Liverpool may eventually hit the heights they’re craving.
A super fit(not in a gay way) squad is essential if we are to challenge on all fronts this season
RAFA 
The guy's a genius 
Comment