Andoni Iraola said he will leave Bournemouth at the end of the season, but the Spaniard says his focus is fixed on the club’s last two matches as it chases a place in Europe. Bournemouth are sixth in the Premier League with 55 points and need one more point to match last season’s club-record total of 56.
Iraola said he is “very concentrated” on the final two games and that it matters to him to end his three years in the best possible way. Bournemouth’s run has carried them 16 matches without a loss in the Premier League, a stretch that includes eight wins and eight draws and began after a 2-3 defeat by Arsenal on 3 January.
The timing matters because Bournemouth could finish the season in a European place for the first time in the club’s 127-year history. If the table closed today, sixth place would mean a Europa League berth, with Bournemouth two points ahead of Brighton, four ahead of Brentford and six clear of Chelsea and Everton. There is also a more remote route to the Champions League if Aston Villa finish fifth and win the Europa League.
Iraola said the decision to leave was not easy, but once he made it, he felt relief. He also said the club has handled the transition well, adding that the players who have been there for three seasons understand what Bournemouth need in each match and that the newcomers have settled quickly. “We know each other well,” he said of the group.
The manager’s exit closes a major chapter for Bournemouth, who have gone through recent transfer windows with the departures of Kepa, Dango Ouattara, Illia Zabarnyi, Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez and Antoine Semenyo. Marco Rose has been named as Iraola’s replacement, while the Spaniard has recently been linked with Manchester United, Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Liverpool. Last season, Tottenham also showed strong interest.
For Bournemouth, the next two matches now carry a double weight: they can secure a European debut and add the final line to Iraola’s three-year spell before handing the team over to a new manager. For Iraola, the measure of the season is simpler. He said he wants to finish the job as well as he can.
