Eddie expecting to have a tight finish
EDDIE HOWE believes Bournemouth are in a Premier League relegation scrap but feels his team have done little wrong during a concerning run of one just win from eight games.
Tonight the Cherries travel to Crystal Palace on the back of three successive defeats which has left the club only four points clear of the bottom three.
Howe has seen his side finish each of their previous four seasons in the top flight comfortably clear of the relegation zone.
However, the 42-year-old thinks final league positions can mask the difficulty of remaining in the division and has called for greater consistency from his players to arrest the current slump.
‘The reality is it’s always been very
■ CRYSTAL Palace boss Roy Hodgson has no concerns over Mamadou Sakho with the centre-back set to start against Bournemouth tonight. The Eagles are on the verge of a defensive injury crisis with Joel Ward (knee), Scott Dann (ankle) and Gary Cahill (knee) ruled out of the midweek clash. Dann started Saturday’s 2-0 win at Burnley but was forced off in the second half, allowing Sakho (pictured) to play for the first time in more than two months. ‘He’s had to wait for his chance but played a game for the Under-23s, played on Saturday for a considerable period in the second half, so I have no fears about his fitness,’ said Hodgson.
tight (avoiding relegation) and we’ve just managed to get a big result when we’ve needed it, we’ve managed to always stick together through the difficult periods and this season is going to be no different,’ Howe said.
‘I don’t think there’s a lot wrong with
the team, I think we’re in pretty good shape but we have to be more consistent throughout the games.
‘There have been slight inconsistencies that have ended up costing us, so we have to put a complete performance together, starting tomorrow.’