Ex-Liverpool coach has made his stance clear on returning as Aaron Briggs leaves

Thomas Gronnemark has confirmed he would return to Liverpool to help address the club's set-piece issues, with the Reds having conceded 12 goals from dead-ball situations this season

Liverpool's head coach Arne Slot gestures during a Premier League soccer match(Image: Getty Images)

Thomas Gronnemark has left the door ajar for a potential return to Liverpool following his previous stint as the club's throw-in coach under Jurgen Klopp.

The Danish specialist initially began working with the Reds in 2018 before departing his position in 2023. Liverpool has endured defensive frailties from set-pieces this season, leading to the exit of specialist coach Aaron Briggs. Arne Slot's players have shipped 12 goals from dead-ball situations across 18 Premier League fixtures, while managing just three strikes from set-pieces themselves.

While the spotlight has largely fallen on corners and free-kicks regarding these shortcomings, the Reds have encountered comparable difficulties defending long throws.

Brentford stands among the teams to have exploited such weaknesses when facing Liverpool, with the Bees being one of the sides Gronnemark presently assists on a consultancy basis. Brentford secured a 3-2 victory over Liverpool in October, with Dango Ouattara finding the net after merely five minutes following a Michael Kayode long throw.

Andy Robertson delivered a frank evaluation of the Reds' loss at the time, acknowledging they failed to execute their game plan as set pieces proved their undoing once more. "We know how difficult... how good a set-piece team they are," he said.

"We’ve worked on the long-throw and everything, and five minutes in, you concede three long throw-ins. One of them you concede from. It’s not good enough, you play into their hands and have got an uphill battle from there."

Thomas Gronnemark speaks to the players of Liverpool during a training session at Melwood(Image: Getty Images)

However, Gronnemark's fruitful collaboration with Brentford wouldn't deter him from a Liverpool comeback, with the Dane confessing he'd relish the opportunity to rejoin the Reds. "Liverpool are always welcome to call me," he told RG.

"The only way I wouldn’t say yes to Liverpool is if I were already coaching another top Premier League team that’s actually a direct competitor.

"I’m not talking about a team like Brentford, and as long as I'm not full-time at another club, as long as my contract gives me the green light, I’d say yes.

"Of course, with my history with the club, my connection with the fans, and people who are writing to me every day on social media and thanking me for my time with the team, I’d say yes in most cases."

He continued: "It's been great to be at Brentford. It’s really important that my throw-in coaching is really different from club to club.

"When I was in Liverpool, Ajax, and Dortmund, it was mainly the fast and clever throwing, even though I did a little bit of long throw-in coaching to improve the throwing area of the players and give them better counterattack opportunities, but in the previous three seasons, it was primarily long throwing.

"Midtjylland scored 11 long throw-in goals and also got two or three penalties from long throw-ins, so if you ask me, they were the best team in the world on long throw-ins, and they were also top of the Europa League in that department.

"But it’s really important that when I coach different clubs, I always tailor-make it to the team’s playing style and formation, the wishes from the managers and owners."