Thursday 30 July 2020 10:24, UK
Eddie Howe insists his Bournemouth side can only concentrate on trying to win their final two games and hope it is enough to guarantee their Premier League survival.
The Cherries sit three points from safety with two games to go and a weaker goal difference compared to Watford and West Ham, who are directly above them in the table.
Bournemouth's situation could be further compounded with those two sides facing each other this evening, live on Sky Sports.
However Howe is adamant focus is solely on Bournemouth's final two games, starting against Southampton on Sunday, and is urging his players to adopt the same approach.
"I don't know whether I will watch the game or not [Watford vs West Ham] but we can only focus on ourselves and trying to get maximum points from our next two games," Howe said.
"That takes importance over any other result or games that are going on and I would encourage the players not to watch it either.
"They just need to concentrate on themselves and getting in the best physical and mental condition possible to play our game.
"For various reasons we are where we are and I've got no idea what it will take to stay up - all we can do is try and hope it is good enough."
Although Howe's team failed to take any points from the trip to Manchester City on Wednesday evening, there were plenty of positives which he believes will stand them in good stead for the visit of Southampton.
"We were heartened by the performance and I anticipate the players will be in a very good place," Howe added.
"There were so many good things to take from it and if we can repeat that high performance level and the number of chances created against a very good opponent then that will serve us well.
"The players are in a very good place and confidence levels have definitely shifted upwards as we have gone through the restart.
"You're definitely seeing a better performance from the team, especially in the last three games."
