CHERRIES GET RING OF CONFIDENCE
EDDIE HOWE has made sure his Bournemouth players are fully prepared for a relegation scrap – by making them step into the boxing ring.
Howe’s troops took part in a sparring session at a local boxing club this week to get themselves in the mood to KO Watford in tomorrow’s drop-zone showdown.
Boss Howe said: “It is something we have always done, taking the team away and doing something slightly different. It was a little bit of fun for an hour, a different way to get the boys doing some physical activity in a controlled way, but with a thought and a meaning behind it.
“You can draw some comparisons to the sport, and the fight and the battle and the mentality we are going to need to show in the coming weeks. There were a lot of laughs and that’s good if you are seeing smiling faces among footballers. It is not always easy to do. Hopefully it helps us in some way.”
Howe could have been forgiven for throwing the towel in after seeing his side win just three of their last 16 games in all competitions to drop into the Premier League bottom three.
But he insists he has no fears they are not up for the fight. He said: “I don’t think there is any doubt we are up for the scrap and we know we are in one. In some senses that is a real positive.
“Any sense we are not would belie everything we have achieved in our history. We have proved time and again we are up for the scrap, we are up for the battle.
“In the big games we have always done well so I would back the players to show how much it means. We have some young players but we also have some experienced heads. You look at our squad and there are a lot of players who have built up a lot of experience over the last five or six years, whether going for promotion or fighting relegation.
“They have been there and done it. Now we have to prove we are good enough on the pitch.” TEAM LINE-UPS SEE PULLOUT PAGE 12
ASTON VILLA have agreed terms to sign former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina on loan until the end of the season.
The 37-year-old Spain international (above) will join up with the struggling club on Monday after sorting out arrangements with AC Milan.
Villa boss Dean Smith
has been desperate to bring in a new No.1 after England keeper Tom Heaton was ruled out for the season with knee ligament damage.
Reina’s vast experience made him a stand-out candidate for Smith – he made almost 400 appearances for Liverpool during a nine-year spell at Anfield in all competitions.