Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has spoken about his future with the Cherries, having recently been linked with the Manchester United and Chelsea jobs
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has discussed his future at the Premier League high-flyers. The Cherries currently sit second in the league and have earned plenty of praise for their impressive start to the season.
Iraola’s side have picked up 18 points from their first nine games and rose to second following a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest last Sunday. This weekend, Bournemouth will have their top four hopes tested away at Manchester City.
Iraola was linked with the Manchester United job earlier this month, prior to the Red Devils’ upturn in results, and speculation this week has suggested he has admirers at Chelsea too. His deal is currently due to expire at the end of the season, with the Spanish coach joining Bournemouth at the end of his Rayo Vallecano contract in 2023.
Bournemouth finished ninth last season and collected 56 points, their highest-ever Premier League tally. However, Iraola is refusing to get carried away and has compared his team’s fortunes to his own future at Bournemouth.
“As a manager, I say it a lot of times, we cannot look too much ahead,” he told Sky Sports. “Your future depends on your next result. We look backwards and everyone values you, or evaluates you, looking at your five, six last games.
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“Now we have City, Villa away, we could lose both games – that is probably a big chance – and people will start thinking, ‘They were doing well and now they’ve dropped a little bit.’
“At the end you have to continue performing. You don’t know where you are going to end [up], if your next job is going to be in a bigger club or your next job is going to be in a smaller club.
“I always say, I’m really happy here and I have to be at a very, very high level to have the chance to continue in Bournemouth. That’s my concern. To perform well, you have to win a lot of games, you have to improve players, you have to do your job well so you can have good chances, like being in this club.”
Despite Iraola insisting he is happy at Bournemouth, the coach will continue to be linked with other clubs as his contract nears its end. With his future remaining uncertain, the 43-year-old has already explained that he does not take a short-term approach to his managerial career.
“I think sometimes you feel overwhelmed, but you also know how this works,” Iraola told Sky Sports earlier this month. “I think you have to value the long-term, season-by-season, at the end of your career will put you wherever you belong.
“It’s not just a one-season thing, you have to be there to stay and get results with the teams that you have. As I’ve said before, if you don’t have good players, it’s going to be very difficult.
“The players that are here are the most important thing of this game, and I’m very happy with the teams I’ve coached before and with the team that I have this season.”
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