Ahead of the Premier League contest, Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil informed that planning has already begun for the next season.
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Bournemouth welcome Manchester United for a tough Premier League assignment on Saturday. The home side have done enough to guarantee their safety for another season in the division, hence there is very little to play for them in the remaining fixtures. On the other hand, Man United still have all to do in their final few games. They are very much in the midst of a close top-four battle. Hence, every match counts for Erik ten Hag’s side. In order to counter United’s threat, Bournemouth must be at the top of their game on Saturday.
Ahead of the Premier League contest, Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil informed that planning has already begun for the next season. “I’ve sat with Neill Blake and Richard Hughes already around what next season can look like and plans that we can put in place, so we’re along that process,” he was quoted as saying by their club’s website in a pre-match press conference for the visit of Manchester United.
“One of the benefits of getting to 39 points as early as we did is we have had a couple of weeks already where you can move some of your focus to next season. We’ve started to put some plans in place and, obviously, a lot of things need to get done between now and then. We’re hopeful that, as we saw in January, it’ll be well planned and, hopefully, the summer can be equally as successful for us.”
Gary O’Neil then previewed the upcoming contest and said how difficult it will be to play Manchester United now, considering their involvement in the top four race. “We’ve got full focus on Manchester United. We’ve managed to get some good work done on preparing for what is going to be a very tough game against a good side that are still pushing hard to make sure they qualify for the Champions League. It’ll be a good test for us tomorrow,” he elaborated.
Bournemouth will be entering this contest on the back of losing 2-0 to Crystal Palace in their last game. O’Neil is eager for a response from his players. “We set ourselves a goal and we’ve achieved it, but does that mean that we’re just happy to just stop, park up and finish on 39 points? Definitely not. Last weekend was a good reminder that if you drop your level a little bit, it can look like a lot at this level; the Premier League is ruthless. We’re looking for a response from last weekend and Manchester United at home is a great fixture for the boys to go and show what they can do,” he stated.
Gary O’Neil also informed that one of their key players Antoine Semenyo had successfully undergone surgery for a shin problem. “Antoine has had surgery so he will be out until next season. We’re hopeful he gets back and can have a decent little spell with the team before the season starts but it will depend on how quickly he recovers. Everything went well and we’re hoping he has a speedy recover because he can be a big help again for us next season,” he added.
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