AFC Bournemouth’s new head coach Andoni Iraola has arrived on the south coast and begun work.
The 40-year-old has arrived after a successful spell with Spanish La Liga side Rayo Vallecano, this will be the first time he has experienced English football having never played in England spending the vast majority of his professional career with Athletic Bilbao.
Let's get to work 💯 pic.twitter.com/47ZcL4nz1D
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) June 30, 2023
In the building 👋
Great to see you, Andoni 🤝 pic.twitter.com/aqgOiO7ElX
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) June 30, 2023
Andoni arrived at Dean Court and then immediately had a look around the Kings Park training ground, before completing his media duties, talking to the clubs official media team.
A first look around 👀🔍 pic.twitter.com/zTrkyTHgsI
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) June 30, 2023
In his interview, he spoke about his general football philosophy, his first impressions of AFC Bournemouth, the upcoming plans for pre-season and the start of the Premier League campaign.
Iraola told afcb.co.uk…
“I’m really pleased, really grateful for the opportunity that AFC Bournemouth has given me.
“Now I know the challenge. I want to start working with the players as soon as possible and I think it’s an exciting challenge for me.
“We have to get ready, because it’s not going to be easy, we know this. We know the Premier League, it is going to be tough. But we have to be prepared…”
He added…
“…One of the reasons I am here is because I love a lot of the players we already have in the squad.
“I love the work-rate they have. I am really looking forward to starting with them, to try and help them as much as possible.”
"The players are ready for it."
Andoni Iraola outlines what we can expect from his #afcb team this season 🔥 pic.twitter.com/RVzMRbN9Oa
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) June 30, 2023
Discussing playing the best sides in the Premier League, Iraola will not be approaching these games as “free hits”, seeing every game we play as an opportunity to score points.
Something he often achieved at Rayo Vallecano beating both Real Madrid and Barcelona.
He continued…
“I think we have to take every game as an opportunity to take points.
“Obviously we are going to face the best teams in the world, but you cannot start the season and think two games against (Manchester) City, two games against Arsenal, two games against (Manchester) United, otherwise you lose 10 or 12 games and then you have to win the rest.
“I think we have to maximise our chances, give us options in games.
“We have to do our best. Sometimes it’s not enough, because we are facing very good teams.
“But you cannot lose the chance and give up if they score the first goal.”
So what will the Dean Court faithful see when they arrive in August, what type of football will be on offer?
“We want to be an efficient team.
“For me, a lot of times to be efficient is to play as close to their box as we can. Probably we will play a little bit higher up the pitch.
“We want to be direct, to try to maximise our offensive volume. Obviously we have to defend, we have to be ready to defend sometimes in a low block, because we will be forced.
“But our main idea will be to play as much as we can in their half.
Your say…
SteveJonesLegend said…
I actually think he comes across very well in his interview… Didn’t say we’re the best thing since sliced bread and our facilities are awesome… Was honest in saying they are ‘good enough’… Has obviously studied the personnel we have and felt he made a decent first impression…
Having been on the fence, to begin with, I can actually look forward to next season under Iraola.
cardiffcherry added…
When you consider that English is not his first language, that is a seriously impressive first interview. Certainly inspires more confidence than O’Neil, Parker and Tindall.
Really hope the players buy into what he wants to do. I’m sure they will.
afcb_rednblack wrote…
A very good first interview, impressively confident and good to hear that player development is one of his priorities as well as pressing football. On the surface an exciting appointment. – To join the conversation, click here.
