Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has insisted “nobody knows” what will happen in the future, when asked if he’ll end up manager at Athletic Club Bilbao.
The Bournemouth boss has been speaking to Onda Cero in Spain and the subject of a potential move to Athletic was again brought up.
He’s regularly been linked with the Athletic job since becoming a manager after spending most of his professional career with them.
Iraola joined the club in 2003 from their reserve team and became a regular starter and fan favourite from there, making 510 appearances for the club and captaining them for several seasons before finishing his career in America with New York City.
He’s since embarked on his coaching career after retiring in 2017, impressing with the likes of Rayo Vallecano and now with Bournemouth in the Premier League.
As a Basque coach with such an attachment to the club he remains on their radar, though, and admits he can’t rule out a return in future.
“If it happens, then it will happen, but nobody knows what will happen in the future and for now at least I’m going to try to make my way as best as possible,” he said when asked on the matter.
For now his focus is on Bournemouth, who he joined in the summer after they parted ways with Gary O’Neil.
A move to the South Coast of England was certainly a big change for the Spaniard but he insists neither he nor his team are complaining.
“At least we could put it on the map, right?” he added.
“Obviously you didn’t control the whole squad, you didn’t know many things, but we had a bit of a reference that it was a place in England, where people go on holiday, the climate is not as harsh as in other places.
“And the truth is that the experience here is positive in that sense on a family level, on a personal level, the weather, now it’s starting to get cold, but so far it’s been quite respectful and we’re not complaining.”