He spoke about the past two 3-0 wins, gave a team news update and discussed the team’s current form.
Read every word from the broadcast section of Iraola’s press conference below.
**Paul Belvertsone (Premier League Productions): A lot can happen before Monday night, but as we sit here now, how are your injuries?**
Andoni Iraola: I think it's a similar picture than we had past week. Marcos was the one that finished the game with some cramps and still is dealing with some issues there, but there is not a proper muscle injury. So we hope he's available also for Monday, but we are not still sure. It's strange because we still have three more days, so it's difficult to know what's going to happen, but should be very similar from past weekend.
**PB: What's the situation with Veljko?**
AI: Veljko was injured. Veljko has a proper injury from the game against Everton, it’s behind the knee. Some small ligaments you have behind the knee and the capsule are a little bit affected and he will be out, they told me around two, three months. That's what I can say.
**PB: That's a big blow, isn't it?**
AI: Yeah, no big blow, especially for him. It's a player that even being 18, he was contributing a lot. He had started some games also for us and performing well and it's a big blow also with Ben Doak. These two situations of new, young players, new signings and they are going to be out for some time. It's a blow for us.
**PB: How about AFCON? Is Amine Adli available?**
AI: Yes, he’s available. He didn't make the squad of Morocco, so now we are not losing anyone because of the AFCON.
**PB: As far as Marcos goes, he was tremendous when he was on the pitch against Chelsea. I know he missed a big chunk last season, but in your time here, has he played better?**
AI: I think Marcos has been very good. He was performing well even before I arrived to the club. I remember some games that I watched from the previous season where he performed really well. And with us, you know what to expect when you put Marcos in the starting lineup. On the ball, off the ball, he understands very well also the way we want to play and for us it's very valuable. I don't think it’s a big secret.
**PB: He's a tremendous defender, but how important is he at sort of setting the tempo, playing those accurate balls up the pitch, starting attacks?**
AI: I think he's very confident on the ball and also he makes the ones next to him more confident. This is something that when you feel confident, the one next to you looks a little bit better and the other one looks a little bit better and is good for the team. He has, I think on the ball, he can play short, he can play long. His understanding of the game, I would say, even without the ball, when to press, when to drop a little bit. And also he's for our team, quite an experienced player. He has played in other leagues, has played in Europe. And I think these are qualities for this team, I think are very important.
**PB: At the other end of the pitch, you've told us many times you don't judge strikers just on their goals. You're not worried if they're not scoring. Is Eva worried about his goals record at the minute?**
AI: I suppose he wants to score more like all the players, all the strikers that I've known. But for me the worry is that the team plays well where you are on the pitch. The team scores when you are on the pitch. It's true that the last two games haven't scored. It changes a little bit because we were scoring a decent amount of goals. But it's true that we've had the other day, I think we had good chances. He was very close and I think he played well. And for me it’s the most important.
**PB: He seems to be caught offside a fair bit. I wondered if that was a sort of an eagerness, a sort of an over-eagerness to try and get in position to score.**
AI: The offside of Eva, watching the replay and the image they put, maybe it's two centimetres. You know, I don't think you can blame a player because it's two centimetres offside. It's like, yes, we know Chelsea play this kind of high line or they, especially on crosses, they take these risks and it's a matter of timing. Sometimes it's a matter of, not only Eva, I think, who makes the pass, I think it's Alex Scott, makes another, like an extra touch probably that he was not expecting. And then it's difficult not to break a little bit. And it's about nothing. We haven't been lucky in these situations lately. We've had a couple of goals disallowed by nothing. But I don't care so much that he, sometimes if it works, it's a goal. If it doesn't work, okay, we concede a free kick or a ball for them. But I think I prefer them to try to attack the space in behind. Rather than just because I'm going to be offside, just come to the safe and don't make the spaces, the movement to the space.
**PB: The performance against Chelsea was so much better than against Everton. How did you get that reaction? Did you have to show your angry side in the week?**
AI: No, I think everyone understood. I think when we spoke about the game against Everton after the next day, I think the players were the first one. Sometimes we speak, I speak most of the time but sometimes I ask them what they think and they were the first one feeling that we hadn't been ourselves. Sometimes we are ourselves and we don't play well or we make mistakes but we felt ourselves the other day and I think it's the line we have to follow. We again play another team that is I think is tied with Chelsea. So, a top-level team on Monday away. It's a team that is in a great form also I think they've lost one in last 10 or something like this. So we have to do it again. We have to perform really, really well. And maybe against Chelsea it was just one point but now we have to value every point.
**PB: When the players spoke about the Everton game, did they come up with any reasons why they weren't themselves, how to avoid that situation again?**
AI: Yes, there are reasons. The easiest thing is to say no mentality. But there are also football reasons I think that we normally do that we didn't do that day against Everton. It's true. Also we miss some important players in our team and we didn't find. No, I probably think that that day we started with seven new signings and makes you think also that these new signings also need like more experienced player next to them because otherwise it's too many changes and it is costing us.
**PB: You've done very well the last couple of trips to Old Trafford. Will you be welcomed with lovely warm memories as you walk into that famous stadium?**
AI: I love to play at Old Trafford, to coach in this case what I think is one of the best stadiums in the world. The problem is you face normally a top team when you play there and very good players. But I think the atmosphere there is really nice and I'm sure my players will appreciate it. But they will have to know that in those stadiums you have to be at a certain level that is very high and I hope we are. It’s true that we have good precedents but also I think we are playing this season against a team that is in a really good run.
**PB: For the players that did play in the previous victories, can that give a positive influence on this forthcoming performance? Walking into somewhere where you've performed before, where you've had a wonderful experience before. Did you ever feel that as a player walking into an away ground and feeling a little bit bigger, a little bit better because you performed there before?**
AI: I don't know how much it helps. We can see it from different points of view. It's true that we also played pre season against United. They beat us 4-1. They were much better than us and we have good experiences against them, also the bad experience from the pre season. I think there are different circumstances and I think we start from zero and I don't pay too much attention. Sometimes, obviously you see the game but the teams have changed, especially us a lot and also them. And I don't expect a lot of similarities.
**PB: How much have they changed from a year ago when you did play them up there last time?**
AI: Especially the signings they've made up front. I think they've signed players. Mbeumo, Cunha, Sesko, players like Amad. Now they are even more important. I think they have bigger threats. And we have to be ready to defend difficult duels like we did the other day against Chelsea for the full backs, for the centre backs. I think we will sometimes be really demanded because you have to defend very good players, sometimes in open spaces and we will have to be very good.
**PB: To pick out one player, how much of an extra headache does an in-form Mason Mount give you?**
AI: Mason Mount is a very smart player, very smart player. He takes always the good positions. He understands also, I don't know him personally, but I think he understands very well the game and he analyses very well where are the spaces that he can exploit better. He sometimes plays higher, sometimes lower, sometimes wider, sometimes more inside, sometimes comes to the side and I think there is a reason behind this. And obviously after he's a lovely player on the ball. If we allow a lot of time to Bruno, to Mason Mount, to these players. If they associate, it's going to be difficult because they are top level players.
**PB: And just back here, the club's announced a new shirt sponsor today. I wonder what it means to the club to have the support extended from such a big local company like Vitality.**
AI: I think it's very, very good news. I think Vitality is a company that we know very well. They've been obviously with the stadium name rights and they've been with us at least the time I've been in the club. I did an interview also with them, I remember with Greg, very nice guys. I think also they have the offices here, the headquarters in Bournemouth, because I go every time you go through Bournemouth, you see the building. So I think it's very, very good news for the club that a company that we know for so long and they will continue to be with us.