Many frowned when Bournemouth parted ways with Gary O'Neill last summer.
Appointed on short notice following the sudden and unexpected departure of Scott Parker, he ultimately guided the Cherries back from relegation during their first season back in the Premier League.
Chairman Bill Foley wanted to shake things up. He replaced him on the same day with Andoni Iraola, hoping to stamp his mark on the Dorset club and take the club in a new direction. “We wanted to act quickly because our contract in Spain was up this summer,” said the American businessman.
The former Spain international, who played in the same team as Arsenal's Mikel Arteta and Bayer Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso in his younger days, attracted a lot of attention as he led Rayo Vallecano out of La Liga 2 and then finished 12th in the top flight for the second consecutive season.
Andoni Iraola has been manager of Bournemouth since June 2023.
Foley backed his players in the transfer market, and financed more than £110m in new signings. But within two months, the project seemed to be coming to a screeching halt. It took 10 games for their first win, and by November 4, Bournemouth were third from bottom after a 6-1 defeat at Manchester City.
In retrospect, perhaps you could say it was because of the early problems. Despite the pressure from outside, if not from inside, the club's patience with Iraola was rewarded. After a 3-0 win over Brighton on April 28, the Cherries reached 48 points, their best ever in the Premier League.
“Everyone talks about a bad start, and it's true that it was a really bad start,” Iraola said, his usual calm and collected manner, as we sat in the home dressing room at the Vitality Stadium for an exclusive interview. Sky Sports.
He can smile about it now. “Looking back, it was probably the best thing that ever happened to us, but at the time, it was really tough!
“I remember at the beginning we played against top teams in very difficult games. We weren't there yet, but later on we had more chances to play, we were a more evolved team and we were more prepared.
“If you look at it from some perspective now, it wasn't the worst, and it will help especially next season. The record points total was a really good reward for the season the players gave us.”
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Bournemouth's goals for the 2023/24 Premier League season, including stunning goals from Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing and Luis Sinisterra
Instead of returning to his native Spain for the off-season, Iraola stayed in England to prepare for his second season. As a cycling fanatic, he was obsessed with the Tour de France and the Olympics whenever time allowed.
In pre-season, the Cherries travelled to the USA to play against Wrexham and Arsenal, and when Iraola returned to the training ground there were plenty of double sessions.
He knows preparation will be key after last year. “We have to be ready when the season starts,” he says, with a note of caution in his voice.
Foley's big ambitions for the club have excited fans. Talk of a European expansion just five years after taking over in December last year is music to the ears of supporters who have seen the club nearly disappear in less than 20 years.
Bournemouth concluded their pre-season campaign with a 3-2 win over Girona.
Given these goals and last season's trajectory, expectations are bound to be higher this season.
But meeting external expectations was not high on Iraola's priority list.
“We can’t control expectations, and I’ve said many times that I don’t believe in long-term goals,” he says.
“When you play Forest on the first day, if you lose, people will say you'll be relegated, if you win, people will say you'll be in the top 10! After 38 games, the table puts you in a certain place.
“You have to control what you can control. We have to focus in every game. I know we have the first three games and then the international break. I don't look beyond that.
“We are fighting in this competition knowing that it will not be an easy game. Even if we win, it will be a really tough game and we will have to keep working until the end.
“We have to know that when we play away to Liverpool or Manchester City, we have the same chances. It will be much more difficult, but you can't say that with 12 games in the season, we can't get anything out of it. We have to work hard in every game.”
Iraola has had the advantage of overseeing minimal squad changes this summer, with Enes Unal on loan from Getafe becoming permanent, Dean Whisen arriving from Juventus to replace Lloyd Kelly and promising striker Daniel Jevidson arriving from Sheffield United for a £1.5m compensation fee.
Star striker Dominic Solanke's £65m move to Tottenham made headlines last week, but it wasn't entirely out of the blue and Spurs have more than two weeks left to reinvest that fee in a replacement player if they wish.
Dominic Solanke joins Tottenham for £65m
“We're basically the same, we've had a season with ups and downs and games, and we've learned a lot. Now we can go into more detail in other areas. We know each other, we know what the players are good at.
“A lot of the players in our team are very young, especially the young players like Milos (Kerkez), Ilya Zavarni, Alex Scott and Dango (Utara), who can develop a lot after just one season in the Premier League and I expect them to raise their level.”
Bournemouth, who were one of the most likely teams to be relegated last season, are not even close to being in that conversation at the time of writing, with Sky Bet currently pricing the Cherries at 6/1 to return to the Championship.
But Iraola has shown no interest in such an idea even after a positive preseason.
“We've done a good job, but you never know until the competition starts,” he concluded. “We have a good foundation from last season and a good platform to continue to build on.
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Andoni Iraola says he has enjoyed his first season as a Premier League manager – 'even during the worst moments.'
“The second season is very important for me. We have the structure and organisation as a team, but we need to improve. Other teams are recruiting really well and I am sure we will be much better than last season.
“If we don't improve, we're probably going to finish in a worse position. So we have to collectively and individually build on what we did last season. Sometimes it won't be enough. So we have to find new ways to achieve the same thing.”
Last season's roller coaster ride was undoubtedly a catalyst for Iraola's increased pragmatism, but internally, he'll want more.
