The news all Bournemouth fans feared has been announced and Andoni Iraola will indeed be leaving the club at the end of the season.
While it remains to be seen what his next destination will be, the Bournemouth hierarchy will undoubtedly be working to find his replacement as soon as possible.
The immediate mood among Cherries fans is that of being gutted. Iraola's three seasons at Vitality Stadium have been an unqualified success, transforming the Cherries from a side fighting for survival into a consistent, high-pressing Premier League side capable of punching above their weight.
His departure will undoubtedly spark concern for the Cherries' supporters, but it also offers a moment to reflect on just how impactful his tenure has been on the south coast.
When Iraola arrived from Rayo Vallecano, there was more intrigue than expectation. Could his clear identity and intense pressing style could translate to the Premier League? Those doubts were quickly put to bed as he elevated Bournemouth into one of the most aggressive and tactically coherent sides outside the traditional elite. Plenty of impactful results and performances soon demonstrated that Iraola's Bournemouth was no longer a team merely aiming to survive, but to thrive.
Replacing a manager of Iraola's calibre will be no easy task, but it will be one which the club's hierarchy would have been methodically planning. This is both an ending and a beginning for the club, with Iraola leaving behind not just league-high finishes and improved results in general, but a cultural shift in how the team plays and competes.
The challenge now is ensuring that his legacy is not a fleeting moment, but the foundation for sustained progress in the Premier League.
Find more from Tom Jordan at Back of the Net
