The boss gave an update on team news, praised Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea and assessed their position after a difficult run of form.
Read every word from the broadcast section of Iraola’s press conference here.
**Mark McAdam (Sky Sports News): Just the one point from five Premier League games, obviously been a really tough run. You've had some really difficult fixtures. You said at the beginning of the season that, you know after a couple of games you'd slip down the table. Do you feel you're where you deserve to be at the moment, or is this perhaps an underperforming team?**
Andoni Iraola: It's a good question. I think, if you ask me, I think probably at the beginning of the seasons we got more points that we deserve in that moment, and now we are getting less points that we are deserving. But at the end, I think in 38 games it will balance, no? And you can think we deserve, I think the distances in the table are still very small, but I think more or less, yes, we are where we should be. Probably, if you ask me, we should be a little bit \[higher\]. But if you ask other managers, they will say the same. So the table is what it counts.
**MM: I was intrigued to see that against Everton on Tuesday night, Bournemouth named their youngest ever starting 11 since promotion to the Premier League in 2015. Does that show that this is a young group at the start of a journey and that maybe there should be a little bit more awareness and patience with the fan base and what you're trying to do and what you're achieving?**
AI: Yeah, this is a fact. The other day, I think we played with seven new signings in the starting 11. A lot of them are very, very young, as you said. And this is going to be a process. That's why we talk in the summer, this is going to be a rebuild and we will have this time of ups and downs and players will personally, some of them adapt more quickly. The others need more minutes, more mistakes. But this is part of the process and we know it and we have to accept these things. Obviously, we want to compete and we want to always get good performances, but we know that we are in a part of this history where we are changing a lot of things.
**MM: A few weeks ago, everyone was getting carried away talking about Europe, and now everyone's looking at the table and looking at the relegation. So are you in a relegation fight or are you in a fight for Europe?**
AI: I think that's why you asked me about goals at the beginning of the season. I always say I don't believe in long term goals because we start very well, and you are close to Europe and you are there and then you lose games and no, you are going to relegate and I don't know, I think we were not as good. Now we are not as bad as we look. Somewhere in the middle. During 38 games, you will have periods where you are struggling more because whatever the form, the injuries, the suspensions, the periods where everything looks easy, other periods where you feel that every game is very difficult to win, others that you don't know, but you finish winning games and we have to go through this period. We understand the outside, when you are doing not well, you have to accept the critics. When you are doing very well, you have to also know what's your place and we try to keep it like this.
**MM: Team news ahead of the Chelsea game this weekend. I know a number of players coming back from suspension. Maybe one or two others missing through suspension and injuries. Can you just give us the latest on your squad and how it's looking?**
AI: Yes. From the injury side, apart from the suspensions that you know that we have Tyler and Lew out, it’s the two Scottish players that they are going to be out. And also we have Veljko that we have to check. But I think it's going to be difficult until we do more assessments for tomorrow because he finished the other day with the game with some issues on the knee. And I think for tomorrow I think it's going to be difficult.
**MM: And you're welcoming back David and Marcos Senesi, which will obviously be a big boost for you because they've got some experience which on Tuesday perhaps you didn't have.**
AI: Yes, definitely. Brooksy and Marcos are very important players for us. Now with how we have now with the suspensions and injuries. Probably the area where we struggle more is going to be the midfield. We will have to find players not only to start, but even for the subs and we will have to see how we can deal with this. But it's something that will happen to all the teams and we will have to adapt.
**MM: Chelsea suffered their first defeat against Leeds in eight matches. They've been on a really strong run. How do you assess them when you look at them as a side, their strengths, their weaknesses and perhaps maybe there'll be a reaction off the back of that defeat.**
AI: I think they are doing very, very well. I think they play very well. They are managing also all the competitions very well. Enzo is rotating the team and keeping all the players alive. Also. They changed quite a lot the team the other day against Leeds. So I expect a lot of the normally starters that had a rest to start against us. So it means it's going to be like their best 11 or close to their best 11. So we have to be ready for the best Chelsea that especially this season, they've been really, really good.
**MM: When you look at that Chelsea attacking setup, you know, Estevao, Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro. Does it feel like collectively they have the best attacking group in the Premier League? It certainly looks on paper like they have so many options. They're the joint top away scorers in the Premier League. So they can score away from home as well.**
AI: Yes, they've been really good this season, offensively, defensively. I think they have also such a big squad that when they make the subs normally they improve because they have especially in the offensive positions. The wingers are in a really great form. I think with also different options in every side. Probably they have also a big player missing, that is Caicedo that I think is important for them. But I would give them Caicedo if they give me Tyler and Lew probably. But it's true that he's a big player for them. But when you face a team that is fighting for everything because Chelsea is fighting with the ones that are going to be there for the title, no, you have to be very, very good. Very, very good and hope that they don't have the best day like probably happened against Leeds.
**MM: And just finally we've spoken so much about Antoine this season and how incredible he's been and how much he's developed and how important he is to your side. It's six games in the Premier League without a goal or an assist. Now, the narrative could be suggested that all of this talk around him and the release clause January speculation is affecting him. Would you say it is or would you say he's absolutely level and comfortable in himself and is still performing the way you want?**
AI: Antoine is giving us a lot. I think he's being close to the goals or to the assist. And he's not also a number nine. He's not someone who we are expecting him to score every game. You know, he’s a winger that has normally is a very good threat for us and I think he can continue giving us a lot of numbers but it's not his main job. He has to do a lot of jobs for the team. I think he's still being a threat. He's trying to help us in every game and I haven't seen any change in his attitude.
**Premier League Productions: In terms of what Enzo Maresca is doing with Chelsea this season, he's working with the young squad as well. Do you think they're in a title race?**
AI: I think they are one of the best teams in the competition. There are three, four teams that we all know the teams that are, I think City, Liverpool, Arsenal and them that probably they are a little bit above the others and they are doing very well. And Enzo for me is a top, top coach in possession, out of possession. I think he's improving the team. The more time he is there, the better the Chelsea play. And it's going to be very difficult for us because they have very good players that are very well coached. So if we want to, if we want to beat them, we will have to be at our very best.
**PLP: A few weeks ago during the Crystal Palace match for a period of time, Bournemouth were top of the Premier League, now down in 14th. Are there specific things that may have changed since that period which meant the dip in form.**
AI: These things normally at the beginning of the season always happen. You ask me about where you want to be. I care about the points. Probably we are more in the positions that we belong to that we were in that moment. I think we are in a five games and also now we have Chelsea and United. We have difficult schedule, but we have to be levelled. It's not like we were amazing and now we are a disaster. We are the same, we are the same players, I am the same coach and we have to go through this tough period. Especially when in the Premier League, the level of the competition is so big that when you don't win the two games that you have there against the teams that are around you, you can struggle and you can be a long period without a win.
**PLP: You'll be without three of your most experienced midfielders for this game. Do you think you're struggling a bit with the lack of experience in the team that's available to work with the younger players?**
AI: We are a very young team, this is clear. But we were also past season. You know, it's like more than the age is about the adaptations of the new players, the understanding of what makes us a good team. And I think the help from the ones that have been with us already three seasons and they can help the new ones is always necessary. When you lack like the other day, we lacked some of these experienced players on the pitch, it's true that it gets more difficult for us. Yes.
**PLP: When things are going well, everyone wants to be around you and praise you and things aren't going so well. People can become a bit more distant. Do you feel like you've had to change in any way during this period to try and get the form back?**
AI: No, I feel the same. I don't feel these differences. We are still in a good position. We are in a touching distance of a lot of clubs. We are, points wise in a relatively decent position. But it's true that we are worried in the sense that it's costing us now a lot. There are moments where you cannot give the performance you want and everything costs more. Nothing you feel goes in your way and you have to continue working and believing because these moments happening every season.
**PLP: And just finally in terms of Evanilson, just the one goal this season. Is anything being done extra with him to try and get his confidence up and get the goals coming?**
AI: No, we've continued working the same way with him. No, I think it's not something that happens only to him. I was reading the other day. I think Ollie Watkins was with one goal and scored two the other day. I don't know. Thierno Barry that played against us played really well. And also I don't know if he has scored or. You can have very valuable strikers without the numbers or with some moment where he scores a lot. We know Evanilson can score goals because he has scored goals for us past season. We appreciate him a lot as a player and I'm very thankful that we have him in the team. The other day. I think he was very good also coming from the bench and I have no issue with him.
**PLP: You mentioned Ollie Watkins next before he got his two goals against Brighton, the manager was talking about everything he was doing around scoring goals. So that's quite important.**
AI: Yes, yes, yes. Our demands are much more than scoring goals. I think you have to be difficult for the centre backs and you have to play the game apart from the finishing side. And if we can put him in position to score, we fully trust him.
**Nizaar Kinsella (BBC): I wanted to ask you a bit more about Tyler Adams. You started him in every single Premier League game. Shows how important he is to you. What are you missing and how do you place that this one game?**
AI: I think he's a fundamental player for us, I think is very important for the way we want to play. Because the things he does on the ball, the things he does out of possession, what he transmits as a player. And I think it wouldn't affect us a lot if we had Lewis Cook because Lewis Cook is a kind of similar player in terms of position. But the truth is we have both of them suspended. So definitely we will have to use someone with different characteristics and this will affect a little bit the way we play in the different phases. But I hope we can, we can replace them in a good way.
**NK: I won't ask your team, but will you play somebody out of position, somebody who's used to playing a different position?**
AI: We don't have a lot of options. Yes, it's true that as a number six, when you do the beginning of the season, normally you put two players in every position and those players are Tyler Adams and Lewis Cook. There are other players that have played there during moments. But I think we have quite versatile players who can adapt. But it's true that we cannot expect the same things Tyler does, or Lewis Cook does. So we have to adjust things. Yes, definitely.
**NK: I just want to ask about Petrovic as well. He's playing against this former club. How have you sort of assessed his season? You know, he's probably one who was, you know, a really good shot stopper and all that. And maybe Chelsea let him go because he wasn't as good with his feet. Have you been working with him on that side of game.**
AI: Yes, we've asked Petro about information about Chelsea. What can you give us our tactics on this? But he hasn't been too much with them now because it was first season of Enzo was in Strasbourg and also I think was a very short spell in pre season but wouldn't give us a lot. But I think Petro is another is like a goalkeeper but he's adapting still to us, to the way we want to play. I think he's a good signing, is a great character in the changing room. And probably is trying to find this game where he has amazing saves and he feels this, when you arrive to a new team, you want to do something special to belong. But I think he's been very solid. I think he's been very solid and I'm sure he's going to also grow. The more games he plays, he's going to grow into the season.