AFC Bournemouth have announced Andoni Iraola as their new head coach, just hours after dismissing Gary O'Neil.
The 40-year-old Spaniard signs a two-year contract with AFC Bournemouth and arrives after the expiry of his contract at Rayo Vallecano.
“We're so excited to welcome Andoni to the club,” AFC Bournemouth owner and chairman Bill Foley told the club’s official website. “With his contract in Spain coming to an end this summer we wanted to act quickly.
🔺 Distinct style of play
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) June 19, 2023
🔺 Promotion to La Liga
🔺 Spanish cup semi-finals
Get to know our new head coach 🔍
“He was highly sought after by other clubs across the continent, and his style of play has been an important factor in making this decision. His achievements in Spain have certainly been very impressive, and we're confident that he is the right man to lead our next chapter.
“We have identified a number of targets in the transfer market, which along with our January additions will supplement our strong playing squad to give Andoni the best chance to consolidate our Premier League status and keep progressing.”
Iraola replaces O’Neil, who had succeeded Scott Parker at the end of August 2022 after three defeats from the opening four matches, culminating in a 9-0 loss to Liverpool, leaving them in 17th.
O'Neil's AFC Bournemouth PL record
| P | W | D | L | F | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 35 | 55 |
O'Neil immediately led his side on a six-match unbeaten run, earning a nomination for September’s Barclays Manager of the Month award before eventually guiding them to Premier League safety, as they finished in 15th.
“This has been a difficult decision, but it has been made with great consideration to best position ourselves ahead of the coming season,” Foley said.
We can confirm that we’ve parted company with head coach Gary O'Neil.
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) June 19, 2023
We’d like to place on record our thanks to Gary and wish him all the best for the future.
“As a club, we have put plans in place for long-term success with improvements being made to infrastructure, most notably the development of a new state-of-the-art training facility and the ongoing discussions around upgrades to our stadium.
“We have also identified a number of significant targets in the transfer market this summer and believe this change in direction will provide us with the best platform from which to build.”
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Iraola will begin work with the players when they return in early July, before facing Hibernian and Maccabi Tel Aviv in two pre-season friendly matches on 13 and 16 July respectively, at a training camp in Marbella, Spain.
He will then face West Ham United at home on 12 August in his first Premier League match.
