An emotional Andoni Iraola said he was "close to tears" after helping Bournemouth secure Europa League qualification in what was his final match in charge. 

Bournemouth ended a sensational Premier League campaign with an 18-game unbeaten run (W8 D10) after they drew away to Nottingham Forest on the final day. 

That impressive stretch looked to be in danger when Morgan Gibbs-White, fresh from missing out on England's World Cup squad, opened the scoring in the first half. 

However, the Cherries hit back nine minutes after the break through Marcus Tavernier, which confirmed an 18th draw in the top flight this season, the most of any side in a 38-game Premier League campaign. 

Bournemouth's sixth-placed finish could have been enough to secure a spot in the Champions League in 2026-27, but Europa League winners Aston Villa beat Manchester City to ensure they ended the season in fourth. 

Iraola, however, was delighted to end his three-year stint at the Vitality Stadium on a high, telling BBC Match of the Day: "I am feeling so happy right now, so, so happy.

"Now that everything is done is when you start to think, and I become a little bit more emotional. I enjoyed the last moments, the celebrations with the supporters.

"I am quite hard, but I have been really close to tears. I cannot ask for much more. I have been so lucky to be in this moment with this group at players with this club.

"I think it is the perfect ending, and I am so thankful."

Iraola is yet to confirm where he will manage next season, but he said that now is the time to make some decisions about his future. 

"Now is going to be the time to take decisions. I didn't want to focus on other things before the season ended," Iraola added. "For me, it was massive to get this team in Europe.

"Now I will have to take decisions and I suppose it will not take long. It is a matter of feeling, feeling the team, the players, the correct place, more than if it is a bigger club.

"Sometimes they are not rational decisions, you don't know why, but you see it clearly. I don't really know what I am going to do.

"I know there are some options, but it is time now to recover a little bit, think with my family and let's see where the future is."

For Forest, meanwhile, they finished a turbulent campaign both on and off the pitch on a high, with Vitor Pereira's appointment steadying the ship at the City Ground. 

Forest are one of just three sides that did not lose a single Premier League game when scoring first in 2025-26 (P11 W8 D3), alongside Manchester United and Sunderland.

But the Tricky Trees were at risk of being relegated before Pereira took charge, and he not only steered them clear of danger, but also got them to the semi-finals of the Europa League before they lost to eventual winners Villa. 

"Next season we will have more time," Pereira said. "I believe we can build something stronger. This season was very, very tight in terms of the battle for relegation.

"We did well, we competed, we went to the semi-final [Europa League]. It is not easy with the two competitions, struggling in one and trying to move forward in another.

"I believe that next season we can go and do good things."