The boss discussed the [Cherries](http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/sport/cherries/clubnews/?ref=au)’ start to the season, preparation for Dyche’s side and team news, including Enes Unal’s continuing recovery.
Read every word from the broadcast section of Iraola’s press conference below.
**Mark McAdam (Sky Sports News): We'll start with the positives. Third in the Premier League at the moment, unbeaten in seven games, which is the Premier League's best current unbeaten run. Four wins, three draws. Just that opening day defeat. Everyone keeps saying to me when I see them at work, in the street, around football, how will Bournemouth continuing to be so good? So how are you doing it?**
Andoni Iraola: It's obviously positive stats, but like I said, a lot of times it's the beginning of the season. The differences now in the standings are almost an anecdote. You know, it's not significant. So I value how we are competing every game, how we are, I think, being quite efficient. But it's too early to read into the standings because you lose two games and then you see yourself in a much lower position. And you cannot change everything because now because of the circumstances, we are a little bit higher.
**MM: You look at the recruitment as well. That's another thing that people identify as being particularly special when it comes to Bournemouth. Whenever you sell players, you seem to have the ability to replace them. Eli Kroupi Junior, again, makes his first Premier League start. He's in the goals. He's 19 years old. And again the same question. How do you continue to find these players, slot them in and look like exactly the same team?**
AI: Obviously the big merit in these cases is about the people that sign these players. You know, I obviously watched him play for Lorient, it’s someone that. Because our relationship with Lorient we've been monitoring, and not just last months, but he has been looked at very closely. And with Junior, I don't think it's about the goals. He's always had very good relationship with the goal. It's about what else he needs to establish himself in the Premier League. We are asking him a lot. It's a big jump coming from France, second division, to play significant minutes in the Premier League. And he has to do this adaptation process. He's doing it and if he does it, obviously scoring goals and giving these performances, he's always much better.
**MM: You sold £200 million worth of players, you’ve brought in new players. Are you even surprised at how well you started this season or did you expect to be so good?**
AI: I'm very happy how the new players have understood the collective purpose of everything that we are doing. I think, even not just on the pitch, off the pitch, they understood very well how we want to train, how we want to live together. And this is still going to be like there are going to be mistakes from those players, from the other players. There are going to be ups and downs and this is still a work in progress. We've just started. We've started well, performance wise and points wise, but still there is no differences in the standings. Teams that are now near the bottom, they win two, three games and then they will be in the top half. So now it's about building the team. I think we are in this process like everyone else and we still have work to do with these new players. I think we have to know them when they don't play so well, when they make some mistakes and it is an adaptation process, a normal one.
**MM: Just up next in the Premier League, Nottingham Forest. What's the team news? Have you got players you're welcoming back or any more that you're concerned about?**
AI: Yeah, from the ones that were outside the other day, I think Evanilson is going to be definitely out. He's not going to be able to perform. Brooksy has been training with us last two days so I hope he's available, so we will win David Brooks. We will recover Julio, because he was with the under 20s of Argentina and after playing the final he came during the week and also we had the good news of Enes playing with the development squad. He played 45 minutes, he is training fully. So also I think it’s good he continues this process and I don't think we have more news.
**MM: You touched on Enes there. Obviously it's been a long, long layout for him off the back of the ACL and the surgery, recovery time and getting back into football. The fact that he's been able to get into that environment, play 45 minutes, be amongst the group training, how much is that a big boost for him personally but also for you because you've got real competition now.**
AI: Yes, it's a big boost. It's a big boost for him personally and most importantly, I think has been a long process for him. At the end we are talking about nine months. But I see him in a very good mood now. He sees now that he can train with the teammates normally. We are treating him now like a normal player in the sense that we are not limiting minutes in training and he's one more. And I think even you can feel in the teammates because they've seen how much it has taken Enes and how much he has worked not to be again here. So I think collectively also it’s nice. And even when he scores in a training drill or whatever, everyone I think is okay, he's here again. Yes, it’s good.
**MM: Up next, obviously Nottingham Forest, we all know what's happened to them this season. They're on their third manager of the campaign. How much has that affected your ability to prepare? Because you have data from a Nuno side, then you have a small amount of data from an Ange Postecoglou side where they didn't win a game in eight and suddenly you've got Sean Dyche as the manager who wins his first game in Europe.**
AI: I think we don't have a lot of references. I think the game past night against Porto could be the best reference we have. But we don't know if they are going to change players, change system. It’s difficult to prepare. But we have the advantage that we know very well the players that Forest have and we know very well also normally how Sean Dyche teams perform and compete. And we kind of been preparing not considering these two things. We have to focus on ourselves. I think they are a very good team. They show it last night, they were, I think, very, very, very solid yesterday and I think looks from the outside looks like a good fit, Sean Dyche with this Forest team. It doesn't change too much from the style that was so successful past season for them. And they’ve started really well with the first game. But I hope we can make them a more difficult game on Sunday.
**MM: You obviously got experience of having faced Sean Dyche when he was at Everton. Did you see attributes from a Sean Dyche team in Nottingham Forest in Europe when you watched them on Thursday night?**
AI: Yes, straight away you can see his team. At the end, obviously it's different because there's different players. I think it's a team that especially in the middle. The players they played yesterday, Douglas Luiz, Elliot Anderson, Gibbs-White. This is a lot of quality in the middle. They will have the ball, they will trade well the ball because they have players who combine very well and obviously the new signings they've made and Dan Ndoye is a player that also we were following and I think it's a great signing, Igor Jesus. They've signed a lot and like always in the Premier League it's difficult, we know, but also we have to trust ourselves and playing at home, we want to win, definitely.
**MM: And just finally for me it would be a question without Antoine Semenyo coming up again, everyone is talking about him, absolutely phenomenal. Nine goal involvements so far in the Premier League. You've clearly had an impact on him as a player. He's clearly worked hard to develop. How do you keep him hungry to keep being better? How do you make him improve his game? How much of a challenge is that for you and your coaching staff to continue those levels where he is at the moment?**
AI: I think Antoine is someone who accepts well our criticisms. If, you know, we always tell him, you need to improve this. You need to improve. You cannot stop here. Not focus in your numbers. Try to help us in other ways. Even in set pieces. The other day, Junior Kroupi scored, but he's the first one. I don't know if he even touches the ball, but the first one to flick it or to arrive to those positions. He's adding, I think, aerial power to his game. That is always nice. Defensively, he's been honest and disciplined and I think this improves a lot the package. It's not just what people see on the highlights, it's a lot more. And I hope he can continue building like this.
**MM: You insinuate there that you think he can get better, whilst it's an incredible season, you believe there is more in the tank, he can get even better.**
AI: Yes, I think he can get better. Yes. I think there are areas that he knows he has to improve and he's improving and I think all the players can get better. But Antoine, yes, definitely.
**Paul Belverstone (Premier League Productions): About the team overall, I know it's very early. You keep reinforcing that. How often in these first games do you feel you've hit top gear?**
AI: Top gear? This never happens. There is always something to improve. In your best game, your best performance there is something that we could have done a little bit better. I think this is the consistency. It's not, ‘we were amazing these 10 minutes between the 20’, no, this is about overall performance. If you ask me, our best game this season is Spurs away. But even Spurs away, we had moments where probably we could have done something better or I don't know, other games we've been performing well. There are things to correct always. And even the other day against Palace we had good moments, but also we had a lot of issues in the second half, defending especially Mateta. So we definitely have a lot of things to improve, this week probably because you tie 3-3 and you focus more on the defensive side because you want to be solid and don't concede three goals. But there is always things to improve and to build.
**PB: You talked about Kroupi just now. Can you tell us how he's reacted this week to scoring a couple of goals? Have you seen a change in him?**
AI: Yeah, I think I see him happy. Obviously, it's his first start in the Premier League. You score two goals, it's a shame for him, I suppose, and for everyone that we could not finish it with a win, that we could almost feel it and touch it. But he has been training normally, like always, and he knows he has to continue pushing because, like for everyone else, it's not easy to have the minutes, have the starts, and it's good that we have this internal competition.
**PB: Can you give us a little insight into his character? He's obviously still young. Has he got a wise head on young shoulders, or is he a typical teenager?**
AI: I think he has to be a teenager. He is a teenager and I think he plays football like he plays with his friends, I would say. He enjoys playing football. You can see players that even when we are not training, if there is a ball there, he will go and touch the ball and will try to do something. And he enjoys playing, I think. And now he has to understand the high competition. What are the requirements? It's not just on the ball, it's a lot of things. And he's improving a lot in those areas. He comes from a team where he scored, I don't know how many goals, past season, but a lot of goals. And it's difficult to have this level in the Premier League, so he has to add more things to his game. And we are trying to help him in this process of understanding all the things that we need for him to do so he can be competitive.
**PB: He seems to have that instinct that sets strikers apart. I mean, is that something that's coachable? Is that just natural? Is that special?**
AI: It's difficult to improve. I think strikers, especially this kind of striker, they smell the danger. The second balls, they go for every rebound. If the shot touches the post, they will be there just in case. Because in this situation, you have to go 100 times just for one goal, because one is there, the ball. You have to go to the second post, like the other day, 100 times just to score one, but if you never go, you don't score. So I think he smells these things and this is difficult to coach, as you said. And we have to try to take benefit of this instinct that he has.
**PB: As far as Forest this weekend, I wonder how much changes preparation-wise in terms of the new manager coming in. How much is it just little things? How much can you prepare? How much are you just purely focusing on right lads, let's do our best things well?**
AI: I think it's like every week. It's a little bit more difficult in the sense that you don't have the close references to show exactly the videos that we know what to expect from Forest. We know their strengths. We know the corners. We know that we have to take care of the centre backs, of the number nine. At the end, we know Gibbs-White, Anderson, they are very good and we will try not to give them time on the ball. It doesn't matter who is the manager because they are players that can make difference by their own. But it's true that structure wise and in the different phases of the game it changes. There are details that change a lot from one manager to the other. But we have the references also from Sean Dyche and we've been working with everything we had. But it's true that at least we have a small advantage that they play one game before ours. So more or less it can confirm or not the things that we were preparing for.
**PB: His last game domestically England was against Bournemouth. What do you remember about that one?**
AI: We won 1-0. Brooksy scored at the end. I think we played really well that game because they with Everton they had a really good defending side. It was very difficult. You see the defensive record is amazing for Everton. A lot of clean sheets and it's not easy to create. And I think we were quite insistent, we didn't score until almost the end. But I think it was a good game from our side. But even then we won at the end 1-0 and with a lovely goal from Brooksy. So it's going to be everything. All the games at the end, every game we've played has been very level. It's a matter of small things. Moments of individual brilliance from the players. But we have to compete well.
**PB: Just to finish, a game that wasn't very level was the last time you played forest, I think 5 0, wasn't it? I mean how fondly do you remember that performance.**
AI: A strange game, because Forest were so, so good past season they played they finished seventh. They are playing Europa League. We are playing against the team that is doing also well in Europe. It cannot serve us as a reference. That game is not what we are going to find on Sunday. I know that Sunday is going to be completely different and I think they have a very, very good squad. A lot of depth in every position and we have to be very good, very good. Otherwise it's going to be difficult.
**BBC: And there's not much left for me to ask, but I just wanted a bit more clarity on Evanilsen. You said it was a small injury, muscular. Does that mean you're just kind of waiting for him to feel better and it's very close as well.**
AI: Yes. He's not far. He's not far, but he's not ready for Sunday. I hope he's ready for the next one. But it's like the Brooksy one. I think they were similar in different places. Brooksy has, I hope he arrives. We still have tomorrow, but he's looking towards he's going to be available. And Eva, I think it's not going to be for this one. I hope he could play next one, but I'm not sure.
**BBC: With Enes, you just have to ease him in, I guess. It's not going to be like straight away you're going to slowly, slowly.**
AI: With Enes now it's about winning the form, winning the rhythm of the teammates. I think from the injury side, everyone is confident we are training him this week has trained normally. He played 45 minutes and from there he has trained normally. Now it's a matter of winning the form, winning the training. There is now a difference from his teammates to his form level and it's something natural. Like it happens, especially with long injuries. But we are not aware or worried about the injury. Yeah, it's about when we see him ready to play.
**BBC: Would you have him on the bench, though? Because if you need a goal, he’s the kind of player you want to throw on.**
AI: I think he could be an option. The problem for me is that I have a lot of players and the bench is not that cheap. You know, I have more than 20, definitely. And everyone is fighting and training and if they don't start to be on the bench and be an option. So now it's a matter of me taking the decision now because we have more than 20 players training and like I suppose happens with Forest, happens with a lot of teams. Now it's a matter of competition to earn the right to play the minutes.