Iraola: This is a great challenge for me in the best league

Andoni Iraola says his first season as AFC Bournemouth's head coach will be "a great challenge in the best league in the world" - and he cannot wait to get started.

The 41-year-old Spaniard arrived in England this week, 10 days after he signed a two-year contract with the Cherries following the dismissal of Gary O'Neil. 

“I’m really pleased and grateful for the opportunity," Iraola told the club's official website. "It’s an exciting challenge for me. We have to get ready. It’s not going to be easy because the Premier League is going to be tough, but we have to be prepared.

"For me as a coach it is a great challenge to come in to probably the best league in the world right now. Not probably, for sure. 

"You have only to look at the schedule - we start strong, we have strong matches. I think it is a good thing, a good challenge to face the best coaches."

Attacking approach

Iraola is relatively new to management, but the former Rayo Vallecano head coach has already earned a reputation for playing attacking football with a high press.

This is a style Bournemouth fans can look forward to seeing in 2023/24.

"I will try to apply my ideas, try to maintain all the things that I think are being well done and then try to make little changes, or sometimes bigger changes, so we can play probably a different style," Iraola says.

“We will probably play a little bit higher up the pitch. We want to be direct. Obviously we will have to be ready to defend, sometimes a low block because we will be forced. Our main idea will be to play as much as we can in their half.

"We have the work-rate, especially from our front players, that they can sustain the press. They can make us play as high as we can so we are closer when we regain possession to the goal. We have to implement everything. The players have to buy [into] the idea."

Having enjoyed some big wins during his time in Spain, notably against Barcelona and Real Madrid, Iraola is not fazed by the prospect of facing teams such as Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United. Indeed, he is positively embracing the opportunity.

"These have been valuable years in my career. I arrive in a moment after some good years in Spain where I feel prepared," Iraola adds. "At the end, only results will tell if it’s true or not, but I’m really excited to be able to try and prove myself. I think I am coming to a club where we can work well together.

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“We have to take every game as an opportunity to take points. We are going to face the best teams in the world, but you cannot start the season and think, ‘OK, two games against City, two games against Arsenal, two games against United', otherwise you lose 10/12 games and then you have to win the rest.

“I think we have to maximise our chances, give ourselves opportunities in games. We have to do our best."

Bournemouth's players return for pre-season training in early July, before facing Hibernian and Maccabi Tel Aviv in two friendly matches on 13 and 16 July respectively, at a training camp in Marbella, Spain.

Iraola's Premier League debut will be at home to West Ham United on 12 August.