Andoni Iraola: Getting Bournemouth into Europe is a way of thanking everyone
By Sunny Badwal, Press Association
Departing Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola thought it was “almost impossible” to take the club into Europe this season after his side secured sixth place with a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest.
Morgan Gibbs-White gave the home side a first-half lead with a free-kick – his 18th goal in all competitions this term.
Bournemouth got themselves level nine minutes after the break courtesy of Marcus Tavernier’s strike but it was not enough for the Cherries to secure a Champions League place.
They will, however, play in the Europa League for the first time in the club’s history.
Iraola, who announced in April that he would be leaving, helped Bournemouth finish the campaign on an 18-match unbeaten run and the 43-year-old could not stop smiling in his post-match press conference.
He admitted he did not want the run to end in his final game, and said: “I feel so happy because I could not ask for much more.
“I didn’t want to lose today, I wanted to finish sixth. Also I wanted to finish the season without losing so we can do the second half of the season unbeaten. This is the most difficult achievement we’ve got.
“I enjoyed every second with the fans, with the players. It’s nice to finish like this, something to celebrate. Honestly happy and in the changing room we were celebrating like we should.
“I knew it would be almost impossible to get Europe but the owner told me we want to stay in the Premier League, but I wanted Europe.
“For me to finish this season giving back to the owner, players, supporters, this European qualification is just one way of thanking everyone.”
The Forest fans even stayed behind to applaud Iraola and his team off.
The Spaniard added: “Class from the Forest fans. Forest have done it last season, in semi-finals. They recognise what we have done.”
Gibbs-White missed out on a place in England’s World Cup squad this week and responded by celebrating a goal which seemingly sent a message to Thomas Tuchel – pointing to his chest and raising 10 fingers.
Reds boss Vitor Pereira felt the attacking midfielder had done everything he could to compete in the summer tournament.
He said: “We had a conversation. We can’t do everything. We should do everything to get our targets and try to compete, the results we cannot control.
“He did everything to deserve to be in the national team but in the end it is not his decision. He is disappointed of course because he score goals, assists, he’s a leader, talent and real connector. In the end he’s in a country with a lot of strong players.”
Pereira was Forest’s fourth manager of the season and he feels the club needs “stability” to kick on next season.
He added: “In my opinion we created a true spirit. Now we have a good environment, we feel confidence in each other.
“I believe if we want to compete for different goals, we need to keep the best players. If not, it will be difficult to be consistent and build something stronger.”
