2 weeks Ago By Anthony Wood
With six games to go, Bournemouth remains in the hunt for European soccer next season. Sitting eighth in the Premier League , Andoni Iraola’s players are six points behind Chelsea in the UEFA Europa League spot and seven behind Manchester City in the fifth and final Champions League position. However, while many Cherries fans may already be looking up flight prices to far-flung European cities, midfielder Tyler Adams is wary of tunnel vision ultimately becoming detrimental within his team.
“We definitely don't want to get too ahead of ourselves. I think it's playing at [RB] Leipzig for four years and understanding what it takes to qualify for Champions League every year and how enduring that challenge is,” the U.S.
Men’s National Team star explained on the 'Men In Blazers' podcast. Meanwhile, Adams has also heralded one Bournemouth and USMNT youngster as “unbelievable.” Adams noted: "I know what it requires to get to that point.
You can't look ahead at games because I think when you start chasing results, that's when it becomes a little bit tricky and things slip up. "So, again, we need to focus on good individual performances, collectively achieving the basics in what we've found to be successful. And then I think then you're looking at big-term goals.
But if you look too far ahead of it, I think you slip up." For Adams, the focus has to remain solely on the here and now, with the 26-year-old noting that actually reaching Europe remains so far in the distance "that we need to be able to stay present and focus on that." He added: "So that can become a reality when you go through the process of the entire season, not just again 20 games, not five games, not the biggest games, not the smallest games.
It's about the entire, entire season." Listen to our All Out Soccer podcast on both Apple and Spotify. In fact, Adams admitted that the prospect of playing European soccer next season isn’t something he’s given much thought to.
He cited his experience in the Bundesliga, knowing that reaching Europe can go down to the wire, and as such, to be thinking about what could be too early "would be not ideal." Adams continued: "So I don't want to let that creep into my mind. I know Bournemouth fans are probably dreaming about that.
And that's good because we're doing something right if they're already dreaming about that." Should Bournemouth ultimately reach the dizzying heights of European soccer for the first time in the club’s history, it seems it may still have Iraola there to guide it, despite interest in the highly-regarded coach from Tottenham and Real Madrid . This comes following a report from the Daily Mail , which claimed that the 42-year-old is set to meet with team owner Bill Foley to discuss the potential of a new deal for the former Spain international.
However, as Adams highlighted, before anyone at the club can even consider packing their sunscreen next season, Bournemouth's immediate focus needs to be on the next game in front of it, which in this case is Crystal Palace on Saturday..
