Saturday 13 February 2016 19:55, UK
Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe has called on his side to improve their home form after a 3-1 loss to Stoke City at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Defeat to the Potters was Bournemouth's second in a row on the South Coast after Sunday's 2-0 reverse to Arsenal.
Meanwhile, the Cherries have also won just three times in total at home in the Premier League so far this season, leaving them down in 15th place in the table, only four points from safety, as they try and avoid relegation.
"We just want to get the points we need, it does not matter where they come," said Howe. "Of course you want to win at home in front of your own supporters, which is really important.
"And our home form has not been good enough, but I think we have been unfortunate in certain games in that we have not got more than we should have done. So we will keep working and trying to get the points."
Howe also felt Saturday's loss to Stoke typified the quality of the Premier League, with the visitors' opening goal coming against the run of play via a long-range strike from Giannelli Imbula.
"It was a tough afternoon for us," he said. "I thought we started the game really well, got hit with a superb strike from their perspective very early. And that seemed to knock our confidence levels back a bit and we were not quite the same after that moment.
"And obviously the second half was equally difficult after going 3-0 down early in the half, but we showed real character to keep going.
"I thought there were moments throughout the game when we were the dominant team and played some really good football. But we did not create enough today, which was the disappointing thing. We did have some gilt-edged chances, but we did not work Butland enough.
"The level we are at, we are at the real top end of European football and the first goal is a really good example of that, as it was out of context with the game. It was a strike from distance and I think that was the only place it could have gone in. And that is the quality of teams you are playing against.
"They were very economical in front of goal and took their chances and we did not take ours. We did create a number of opportunities and got into some really good positions [in the second half]. The disappointing thing is that we did not work Butland enough. You have to show a little bit more quality in those final moments."
Ultimately, though, Howe will only be concentrating on his side's performances between now and the end of the season as they look to beat the drop, rather than concentrating on other teams' results.
"You cannot influence it [other teams' results], so it is all about what we do," he said. "If we win our games, it does not matter what the other teams do and that is the attitude we have to have."
