New Premier League arrival name-drops Newcastle United and Eddie Howe

Andoni Iraola is determined to follow in Eddie Howe's footsteps at Bournemouth – after learning about the Premier League from Newcastle United's head coach.

Iraola has succeeded Gary O'Neil at the club, which Howe took from the fourth tier of English football to the top flight during his time in charge.

Speaking to the Daily Mail last year, Iraola said: "We spent a lot of time talking and exchanging ideas, and learning from each other.

"But, above all, I was learning from him, because he has lots of experience in the Premier League, which, for me, is very valuable."

Iraola name-checked Howe and his assistant Jason Tindall – who had a spell in charge of Bournemouth in the 2020/21 season – in his first media appearance.

The 41-year-old pointed to Howe's success on the South Coast – and at Champions League-bound Newcastle.

“I’m really grateful, and the welcome has been very, very nice.

"We know Eddie. He was in Madrid visiting us, and we know Jason Tindall, and we had talked previously about Bournemouth.

“Obviously, everyone here talks about Eddie. That's a sign he did a lot of very, very good things here in Bournemouth. I'm happy he has been very successful now in Newcastle, but every coach has his own ideas.”

'Underdogs'

Iraola is no stranger to being an "underdog", having managed smaller teams in Spain.

“When you start the season with the sense of being the underdogs, we have to gain a little bit of respect from the league,” said Iraola.

“It is pretty similar, because of the stadium being not so big, or the club not having maybe the history, but we have to use this to our advantage, and I'm used to this in Spain with Rayo and Mirandes.

“For me, this was a great opportunity. It's the Premier League, and, right now, for sure, it's best league in the world."