Friday 4 December 2015 11:53, UK
Eddie Howe thinks Chelsea have turned a corner after their poor early-season form but insists his only focus is on how Bournemouth perform against the reigning Premier League champions this weekend.
Howe takes his team to Stamford Bridge for a Saturday Night Football clash with Jose Mourinho's side, live on Sky Sports 1 HD.
And the Bournemouth boss revealed he has been impressed with what he has seen from a Chelsea side who have kept three clean sheets in their last three games.
"It certainly looks like they're back to their normal selves," Howe said.
"In terms of their defensive structures, the way they played against Tottenham [a 0-0 draw], I thought defensively they were excellent.
"I don't think you can doubt their attacking quality, then you look at the players they've got, you know sooner or later they're going to score goals.
"Maybe from that perspective we're meeting them two or three weeks too late but I think from our perspective we're meeting them at a good time.
"I think we're in a good place and what we've found at this level is if we're in a good place and we perform, we compete. If we don't and we're off our usual selves then these games can be difficult for us. As always when we're preparing for a game it's all about us."
Bournemouth were involved in a thrilling 3-3 draw at home to Everton last weekend, with Ross Barkley's stoppage time strike for the visitors cancelled out by a Junior Stanislas header right at the death.
"It was certainly a nice feeling at the end of the game and the contrasting emotions in the last few minutes were so extreme," Howe said.
"You hope a result like that can really boost the confidence of the players and that belief system you need to win games and get points in games.
"The Premier League for me has all been about trying to pick up points wherever you can and we've done it in style so far because our performances have been very good. What we're looking to do it try to add some wins to those performances and a game like Everton can be the catalyst for that.
"I think from our perspective we've been pleased with the last four games. The first half at Southampton we were disappointing but the second half we were excellent, we carried that on to the Newcastle game.
"Our last two away games have been - sorry the Swansea game was excellent - and the Everton game again in patches we were terrific, so I think we're building momentum in terms of our performance levels.
"Of course what you really want for the players is to play well and to win and I think that then rubber stamps everything you're trying to do. Whether we are able to do that the next two games we don't know but hopefully long term that will be the case."
Howe remained very tight-lipped about the fitness of his squad ahead of this weekend with goalkeepers Artur Boruc and Adam Federici troubled by groin and ankle injuries respectively.
