Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola admits Steve Cooper’s sacking has made it difficult to prepare for Saturday’s game against Nottingham Forest.
The Reds will be playing their first match since Cooper’s departure as new manager Nuno Espirito Santo takes charge for the first time this weekend. Forest will be looking for their first victory since beating Aston Villa at the City Ground on November 5 – their only win in the past 13 matches.
They take on a Bournemouth side who have been in fine form recently. The Cherries are unbeaten in five matches having last tasted defeat on November 4 against Manchester City.
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But despite the contrasting form between the two teams, Iraola admits Cooper’s sacked has proved challenging for his side’s preparation. “It’s a difficult situation for us, training-wise,” he said in his pre-match press conference.
“At the beginning of the week, we were preparing for Forest under Steve Cooper and now, we have to think in other situations that we really don’t know. They have a lot of players and Nuno has played with a lot of different systems, so we are trying to focus more on ourselves.
“We’re trying to improve the things that we have to improve and, obviously, that will require us to be very quick to react once we know their line-up and see the first minutes. We have to be ready for different scenarios – it’s not easy but it’s what we have to do.”
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Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
