How can Bournemouth keep hold of a man like Andoni Iraola?

It’s long been obvious that there’s something compelling about Andoni Iraola, and that his Bournemouth side could become something really quite special if their best days could be replicated over a sustained period.

In his first season, Iraola started really quite horribly, failing to win until their ninth game of the season and then promptly losing 6-1 to Man City, albeit when Man City were still good.

What happened next was thrilling, though, with six wins – including what is now apparently their customary 3-0 win at Manchester United – and a draw against Aston Villa in their next seven games. That was followed by another winless run – seven games, this time – before four wins and a draw from their next five. Get more info on BetBrain about how Bournemouth could fare for the remainder of this season’s Prem.

From that point, Iraola’s side kind of stumbled over the mid-table line and that was that. It was a perfectly decent season in the round, more than enough to kibosh the ‘careful what you wish for’ jibes that were being prepared after those early struggles and the brutal but correct way Iraola was brought in to replace Gary O’Neil.

O’Neil did everything and more that could reasonably have been expected of him having taken the job on at a horrible time and with no experience. But nothing that has happened since suggests Bournemouth got it wrong.

But there was more to Bournemouth than overall improved adequacy. The football was slick and watchable, with that first seven-game run of success featuring 18 goals scored in all and at least two in every game.

Bournemouth had aimed higher than mere survival with the appointment of the former Rayo Vallecano coach and while there were dark times, it was also very clear there was something there. Something really exciting on which to build.

Then this season came along, and Bournemouth started frustratingly slowly once again. Although August draws against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle would now appear to have greater currency now than they did at the time, it’s hard not to wonder what might have happened had Bournemouth not managed to turn round a 2-0 deficit in such absurd fashion in the closing minutes of their third game of the season at Everton. They had been thoroughly outplayed for 86 minutes.

Slowly but surely, Iraola and his team have got going once again. The loss of Dominic Solanke was adroitly handled with the arrival of Evanilson providing about as seamless a transition as could be hoped for before the sheer bad luck of his broken foot. Following a run of seven points from three games against Arsenal, Villa and Man City with no points from games against Brentford and Brighton sparked fears of a repeat of last season’s streakiness, but they haven’t lost a Premier League game in eight goes since. They are currently on the same form as Liverpool and Arsenal.

Since late November it’s been three draws and five wins – including the latest 3-0 at Man United and a hugely impressive 1-0 win over Spurs in which Postecoglou’s ‘entertainers’ were held at arm’s length with the insouciant ease of Nelson Muntz dealing with the smaller kids at Springfield Elementary.

But that analogy only half works. Because Iraola’s side are not playground bullies. They are a clever side, but a skilful one too. They know what they are trying to do and are capable of following those instructions. These sound like very basic bars to clear, but the Premier League is currently awash with managers and squads failing those basics.

Above all, Bournemouth have sharpened up at the back without losing their attacking qualities. A team that for all its promise and propensity for eye-catching purple patches shipped 67 goals last season, is now past the halfway mark of this season with just 23 against. Only the top three and fifth-placed Newcastle can better that.

What we have then is an upwardly mobile team with an upwardly mobile manager showing clear signs of phase two development and improvement after an already-promising phase one.

It’s nice. And now, having understandably if reluctantly cashed in on Solanke when Spurs came calling in the summer, the key advice for Bournemouth is to simply not answer any calls from north London over the weeks ahead.