Andoni Iraola interview: I’m going to gesture less to stop me getting in trouble with referees

Exclusive: Bournemouth manager sought the advice of Howard Webb in a bid to ensure he’s on the touchline to guide his improving team

Andoni Iraola’s stock has seldom been higher. Fresh off the back of beating Arsenal, and his childhood team-mate Mikel Arteta in the process, the Bournemouth manager is looking up the table rather than down.
Last season was Iraola’s first on the south coast, ending with Bournemouth in a very respectable 12th position. This time around, the top half of the table could be within grasp after an impressive start to the campaign.
But the 42-year-old is trying not to get ahead of himself, despite getting one over his old friend Arteta last weekend.
“You enjoy the wins because everything that costs a lot in life should be highly valued, but I try to make sure that their effect lasts as long as a defeat: no more than 48 hours,” Iraola tells Telegraph Sport.
“Emery’s Aston Villa awaits us, then Guardiola’s City, so the routine doesn’t allow you to switch off or prolong too much the euphoria of the victory against Arsenal.
“I didn’t do anything special after the win. I gave the players Sunday off because they asked me to and, as they deserved the rest, I accepted the proposal. But it’s only three more points.”
He then adds: “The most important thing is to stay out of trouble. Trying to get enough points out of the relegation zone so that we don’t live in constant anxiety.
“Last year, we beat Bournemouth’s all-time points record, but we missed the top 10 by one point because we lost the last three games. I would like to reach that top 10.”
The phrase “staying out of trouble” does not just apply to the relegation zone, however. Last month, Iraola was handed a touchline ban after arguing with officials in Bournemouth’s defeat to Liverpool in an incident that he maintains was a misunderstanding. Nevertheless, it caused the Spaniard to be absent from the touchline for their match against Southampton as he had received three yellow cards.
Iraola admits he has sought out Howard Webb, former referee and current head of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), to try and smooth over his relationship with officials – and query some decisions.
The upshot is a new strategy: talk more, gesture less.
“I spoke to Howard Webb during the last international break, I told him I wasn’t worried about the big decisions,” Iraola says. “He acknowledged to me that they made mistakes in the game against Newcastle, against West Ham in the Carabao Cup. These are things you have to accept. Referees, like everyone else, make mistakes.
“I was worried because I had been shown three yellow cards in situations that have nothing to do with the reactions I see in other dugouts. It seemed excessive to me. Against Arsenal I didn’t protest at all, when Saliba was red carded I didn’t gesticulate, I was self-critical, I used my arms less.
“I think that’s what referees punish the most: more if you say something to them, if you make gestures. Howard recognised the refereeing mistakes that had been made and suggested that I should watch my gestures, that I should talk more to the fourth official.”
Referees aside, life has been going smoothly for Iraola, who is developing a young team in his image, aligned with the club’s strategy of prioritising recruiting youth. The average age of Bournemouth’s starting line-up is the second youngest in the league (only behind Chelsea).
“I’ve been lucky that the players have bought into my message,” Iraola says. “At the beginning, it was difficult to get results and the change was significant compared to what they were doing.
“I will always be grateful to them. They probably didn’t know me and I found a dressing room that was very open and easy to accept what we proposed. I also had to adapt a bit to the Premier League because there are differences between leagues and I think we are in a situation where everything is very clear and we can go into detail.
“I think we are a vertical team, with a lot of energy and above all we are fun to watch. We should probably control the games more, lower the tempo, take more initiative, but when I demand from my position that the players press very high, recover and play forward, it’s difficult to control the game in that maelstrom. We are at that point of managing the tempo and not everything is rock and roll, although we can’t lose our identity either.”
Iraola’s commitment to attack is reflected in this season’s statistics. While Bournemouth have scored 10 goals from their eight Premier League games, their expected goals is 14 – which puts them fifth in that metric behind just Tottenham, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City.
It is a fact Iraola is well aware of.
“There is a very positive side to these figures, which we have also analysed, and that is that we have a very good attacking volume,” he explains. “In all the games we’ve played, except against Liverpool, we’ve created more chances than our opponents, but we haven’t translated that into all the points that those statistics should have given us.
“We have not been an efficient team and these are things that need to be improved. It’s not just a question of bad luck, it’s a question of improving in the final third, of distributing our finishing areas well. The volume of crosses, corners and shots is high. But we have to translate that.”
Bournemouth is a club on the up with an upgrade of the club’s training ground underway and plans to improve what is, by Premier League standards, a rather small stadium.
Their manager is on the up too, but on his future Iraola remains insistent that he is not in management for the long haul, despite his success for Rayo Vallecano and now Bournemouth.
“I’m delighted at Bournemouth and in the Premier League, which is demanding and attractive in equal measure. But I haven’t changed my mind,” he insists.
“This profession has many nice things but you also have to give up a lot of things, especially at family level. For now we are happy, we will continue, but I still think that my career as a manager will not be a long one. I miss the people, the routine things like having a vermouth on a Sunday.”
So, would a job at one of England’s biggest clubs tempt him?
“To tell you the truth, I’ve never thought about it. As a manager I don’t make plans, not even in the medium-term. Everything is very ephemeral,” Iraola says.
“When I started on the bench I never imagined I would be coaching at Rayo Vallecano, and then Bournemouth. I go from year to year. At the end of the season, I meet with the club and if both parties are happy, we continue.
“I try to do a good job so that tomorrow you have somewhere to go.”