Iraola on award, 'surprising' Man Utd and dynamics of coaching team
Andoni Iraola has been speaking to the media before Bournemouth's Premier League game against Manchester United on Saturday (17:30 BST).
Here are the key lines from the Cherries manager:
On his Premier League manager of the month award, Iraola said: "It's the first time. I'm really happy that I got it, but obviously I think it is something that is collective for the club. I'm obviously more happy with the points that we got in March - to have 10 points from four games is really nice."
Iraola added: "There is a lot of work behind [the scenes]. We are working every day better as staff and I think this [award] is something not only for the coaches, but the players who are getting the results from their performances."
On whether the 3-0 win over Manchester United in the reverse fixture will make Erik ten Hag's side more wary of Bournemouth, Iraola said: "It probably gives them the advantage of knowing that if they are not at their level, we can surprise them. I don't think it is going to be the case any more, so we have to show that we can do it again."
He added: "We have the advantage of playing at home, but it is going to be difficult because they are a very good team with very good players. You have to keep the concentration over 100 minutes with them because if we make a mistake, normally they score."
The Cherries will be without five players and are dealing with "some colds" in the squad. Marcus Tavernier has picked up a "hamstring injury" while Antoine Semenyo has been "going through some illness in the past week" and picked up an injury against Luton Town. Iraola also ruled out Chris Mepham, Tyler Adams and Ryan Fredericks.
Iraola hopes Tavernier's injury will not rule him out for the rest of the season: "I hope he can play the last games, but it is true that it is going to be difficult. If everything goes well, he could be available for us for the last two games, or something like this."
On his coaching team's dynamic on the touchline: "Coops [Shaun Cooper] and Tommy [Elphick] are the ones that know the fourth officials better. They have experience here in England and they probably deal better [with things]. Pablo [de la Torre] probably doesn't have this relationship. The use of language isn't the same, even though he speaks very good English."
He said it is "important" that the fourth officials know when managers are unhappy with refereeing decisions: "At the end of the game, we sometimes ask about the reasons for decisions, the lack of consistency, but I understand it is difficult for them. They have taken the decisions and they have to explain it to us." The Spaniard added that "normally they don't get involved too much".
Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences here
