Over coffee at Liverpool's plush pre-season hotel in downtown Chicago, new head coach Andoni Iraola laid out the immediate challenges facing him at Anfield.
"You have to improve the team," he explained. "You have to find the best positions for every player, the good combinations for the team and that is what we are now [running out of time to do]."
The 44-year-old was speaking to a host of traveling reporters, including ESPN, on the first day of the Reds' pre-season tour of the United States. Over the past two weeks, Iraola has sought to make inroads on the aforementioned order of business, assessing his squad in friendly games in Nashville, New York and Chicago. But with less than a month to go until Iraola's Liverpool career begins in earnest against Newcastle United in the Premier League, it is clear time is not on his side.
The Reds' trip across the Atlantic was instructive, both for good reasons and for bad.
In the absence of several senior players, some young stars -- including midfielder Trey Nyoni and central defender Ifeanyi Ndukwe -- seized the opportunity to shine. Iraola has had the first real opportunity to begin implementing his notoriously intense training regime and commence the process of getting his squad up to speed for the start of the new season.
- Premier League kits: All 2026-27 jerseys, ranked - Tickets, please! Liverpool's new away kit - Tighe: Explaining every top team's transfer strategy
However, the last couple of weeks have also underlined Liverpool's desperate need for reinforcements and the magnitude of the task facing Iraola and his staff. With each passing day, the Reds are -- as Iraola observed -- losing time to position themselves as genuine contenders to reclaim the Premier League title they surrendered so meekly to Arsenal last term.
A big few weeks now lie ahead. Here's what ESPN learned from spending time with the team in the United States.
Iraola has a tall task ahead of him at Liverpool, and with just a couple of weeks until the 2026-27 season kicks off, they're running out of time to get ready. Nikki Dyer/Liverpool FC via Getty Images Shopping, shooting hoops and intensity in Chicago While Liverpool's pre-season tour took them to three different cities -- Nashville, New York and Chicago -- they sought to ensure that Chicago was their home away from home.
The team were based at the luxurious Park Hyatt Hotel, outside of which swarms of supporters gathered each day, hoping to catch a glimpse of their heroes. On one occasion, a young fan wearing a Liverpool shirt was given a moment to remember when striker Hugo Ekitike -- who had travelled with the team to continue his rehabilitation from an Achilles injury -- stopped to shake his hand and pose for a photograph in the hotel lobby.