Players’ trust in Andoni Iraola pays off as Bournemouth finally start to click

LONDON – Bournemouth players praised manager Andoni Iraola for their turnaround in fortunes in the English Premier League, after their 3-0 home victory over Fulham on Dec 26 propelled them into the top half of the table.

The Cherries were winless in their first nine games, earning only three points to fall into the relegation zone.

However, the club stuck by the Spaniard, who was appointed in June, and he has led them up to 10th – although 11th-placed Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers, in 12th, could both leapfrog Bournemouth should they win their games against Crystal Palace and Brentford respectively on Dec 27.

Crucially for Bournemouth, they have picked up 22 points with seven wins and a draw in their last nine matches, suffering just one loss against Manchester City.

“The beginning of the season, the coach had an idea and we lost a lot of games but we just did the same thing,” Bournemouth scorer Justin Kluivert told Amazon Prime.

“We believed in him, he believed in us and the results came.”

Alex Scott, whose scintillating run from the halfway line set up Kluivert’s finish, said Iraola’s coaching style has had a positive impact on the squad.

“A lot of what we do in training is huge. The confidence, he gives that to every player,” he said.

“The way he speaks to us, the way he has us training after games. The confidence throughout the team comes from the top. He is a top manager.”

But the former Rayo Vallecano coach, who watched Bournemouth’s sixth win in seven games from the stands due to a suspension, credited the players’ teamwork for their unbeaten run.

“There are a lot of small things that are clicking. We know each other much better,” he said.

“Everyone is pushing, there is strong competition... It’s becoming tough for me to make the starting XIs, but it’s good for the team.”

When asked what it was like watching his team from the stands, he added: “It was not bad because we didn’t suffer as much in the second half.

“I will try to have better behaviour and not have more yellow cards because I prefer the other experience!”

Following Kluivert’s goal, Bournemouth doubled their lead after the hour-mark when Joao Palhinha’s foul on Antoine Semenyo gave the home side a rare penalty, their first in around 20 months, which Dominic Solanke converted for his 12th league goal of the season.

With Fulham down and out, second-half substitute Luis Sinisterra put the cherry on top when he curled in their third goal in stoppage time to seal the win.

“Disappointing result, really disappointing second half, too. Bournemouth deserved it,” Fulham boss Marco Silva said.

“We have to be more aggressive... the penalty was not necessary. After that, we didn’t create chances. We didn’t punish them. When you concede goals the way we did, we don’t deserve to get any points.” REUTERS