Bournemouth, Feb 7 AFC Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola has been named Premier League Manager of the Month for January. Iraola presided over one of the most memorable months in the club’s history with the Cherries registering three wins and a draw in the top flight.
News of his award comes hot on the heels of Justin Kluivert winning the Premier League Player of the Month for January, an award Dean Huijsen was also nominated for.
Iraola was shortlisted alongside Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola and former Cherries boss Eddie Howe, now in charge of Newcastle United.
David Brooks’s stunning strike, which has been nominated for the Goal of the Month for January, started the ball rolling as the Cherries opened the new year with a 1-0 win over Everton. Kluivert’s penalty and a goal from Antoine Semenyo saw Iraola’s team take a 2-1 lead against Chelsea, only for Reece James’s late free-kick to deny them maximum points at Stamford Bridge.
The best came when Kluivert’s sublime hat-trick spearheaded the Cherries to an emphatic and thoroughly deserved 4-1 win against in-form Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
An attacking masterclass on Tyneside saw the Cherries extend their club-record unbeaten run in the Premier League to ten games, while ending Newcastle’s nine-match winning streak.
Kluivert’s second hat-trick in nine games – his third strike another contender for the Goal of the Month for January – put them 3-1 ahead before Milos Kerkez completed the scoring in a display which earned Iraola the Performance of the Week Award.
A third hat-trick in 11 games, with Dango Ouattara registering his first treble in the Premier League, sandwiched goals from Kluivert – his second nomination for the Goal of the Month for January offering – and Semenyo as the Cherries closed the month with a resounding 5-0 victory over a Nottingham Forest team which arrived at Vitality Stadium in third place.
The visitors had no answer as Iraola’s team attacked at will, a seventh win in their 11-match unbeaten run seeing them reach the 40-point mark in the table.
Although FA Cup games are not included in the awards, Iraola also oversaw a convincing 5-1 win against West Brom in January which set up Saturday’s trip to Everton in the fourth round. This is Iraola’s second monthly award having also won it in March 2024 on his way to being nominated for the Premier League Manager of the Season in 2023/24, which eventually went to Manchester City’s title-winning boss Guardiola.
Iraola led the Cherries to 48 points in his first season, their highest total in the Premier League, and requires nine from their final 14 games to eclipse that tally while beating their best finish – ninth in 2016/17 – could also be in his sights.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor