Andoni Iraola knows Bournemouth face a tough season in the Premier League, with survival the target again.
Bournemouth did brilliantly under Gary O’Neill last season to secure their top flight status. The pressure is now on Andoni Iraola to repeat, and even better, his predecessor’s success.
In order to do that, the Cherries need to have a strong transfer window, and begin the new campaign well, to ensure confidence remains high. New faces have been brought to the Vitality Stadium this summer, with the likes of Justin Kluivert, Hamed Traore, Romain Faivre, and Milos Kerkez arriving to bolster Iraola’s options.
However, simply signing players won’t be enough. Bournemouth need to sharpen up tactically to ensure they maximise their potential in every area of the game.
Iraola is aware that these steps need to be taken, and has addressed a key concern. He has highlighted set-pieces as an area in need of improvement. As quoted by the Daily Echo, the Spanish coach said: “it is something we know from the beginning that we have to improve…at the end of the season, if you are good at set-pieces, defensively and offensively, there are a lot of points there and probably positions you can earn or lose.”
Bournemouth must find new advantages
The manager has players at his disposal capable of capitalising on set-piece situations. 6’5” striker Kieffer Moore and 6’4” midfield powerhouse Philip Billing could be devastatingly effective at both ends of the pitch in set-piece situations.
Iraola will need to work on systems and routines that maximise the effectiveness of these players. If he can do that, then he will immediately improve Bournemouth’s chances of a fruitful campaign. The Cherries need to eke out every advantage they can.
Pre-season is the perfect time to work on these elements of the game. Iraola will have his side concocting a variety of set-piece strategies on the training pitch at this time. Fans of the south coast club will be desperately hoping to see them successfully executed before too long.
Set-pieces can be the difference between winning and losing a match. Those points lost or gained could be the difference between survival and relegation for Bournemouth.
Bournemouth have the players, now they need the plans.