But for Iraola, it’s all about the process. We have to be patient, and we have to be constant in the things we are doing. We know where we want to go, but we need to go step by step, he says.
With a squad that has grown together and new signings adding depth, the Spaniard is hopeful for the future. We have a really good squad, a really good group of players that are really committed to the project and to what we are doing, he adds.
As the new season kicks off, all eyes will be on Bournemouth to see if they can build on their impressive finish last year. With Iraola at the helm, the Cherries are certainly in good hands.
Talk of reaching Europe within five years of his takeover last December is music to the ears of supporters whose club came close to extinction less than two decades ago.
Given those aims and last season’s trajectory, expectations are, naturally, bound to be higher this term.
Matching outside expectations, though, is not high on Iraola’s list of priorities.
We cannot control expectations and I’ve said a lot of times that I don’t trust the long-term goals too much, he says.
Once we play against Forest on the first day, if we lose, (people will say) we’re going to get relegated and if we win, (people will say) we’re going to be in the top 10! After 38 games, the table puts you, more or less, in your place.
You have to control what you can control. We have to focus in every game. I know we have the first three games, then there is an international break – I don’t look much further.
We are playing in a competition where we know we are not going to have an easy game; even the ones we win are going to be really tough games and we will have to keep working until the end.
We also have to know the same way when we are playing Liverpool or Man City away we will have our chances. It will be much more difficult, but we cannot say there are 12 games in the season we cannot get anything from. We have to try in every game.
Iraola has the advantage of having overseen minimal squad turnover this summer. Enes Unal’s loan move from Getafe has become permanent, Dean Huijsen has joined from Juventus to replace Lloyd Kelly and promising striker Daniel Jebbison has signed from Sheffield United for a reported compensation fee of £1.5m.
Star striker Dominic Solanke’s £65m move to Tottenham last week was headline news, but it did not come completely out of the blue and the Cherries have over a fortnight to reinvest that fee in a replacement, should they so wish.
We are basically the same and we have the experience of a whole season with the ups, the lows and games where we learned a lot. Now we can get into more detail in different areas; we know each other, I know where the players perform better.
A lot of our team is quite young and especially for the young players Milos [Kerkez], Ilia Zabarnyi, Alex Scott, Dango [Outtara], one season in the Premier League can make them improve a lot and I expect they can raise their level.
One of the favourites for relegation last term, at the time of writing, Bournemouth are nowhere near that conversation. Sky Bet currently have the Cherries priced as high as 6/1 to return to the Championship.
Still, Iraola will not take any notice of such ideas – even after a positive pre-season.
We’ve done a good job, but you really never know until the competition starts, he concludes.