Howe wants to see brave Bournemouth
Eddie Howe has told his Bournemouth players to prove they are good enough for the Premier League in Saturday's season opener with Aston Villa.
The Cherries boss has vowed to stick to the style which delivered the Championship title and promotion to the top flight last term, beginning when his men meet Villa at Dean Court on Saturday.
"We feel the team's ready. Now we've just got to go out and prove that we're good enough," Howe said.
"I'm not saying we're going to score 98 goals, but we're certainly going to go at it the same way in terms of how we approach the games.
"We're going to be brave and we're going to try to take games to teams. That's our way, that's what we've become accustomed to, that's what our players expect us to do.
"To veer away from that format I think would be foolish on the back of all the success we've had.
"We know it's going to be tough, we know it's going to be harder, we know there may be some bumps in the road for us. I think we're prepared for that."
Max Gradel and Lee Tomlin are in line for their Bournemouth debuts in as Howe has nine summer signings to choose from in his squad.
Sylvain Distin, the former Newcastle, Manchester City and Everton defender, is among those who could make his competitive debut.
Meanwhile Villa boss Tim Sherwood has refused to rule out reviving a deal for Emmanuel Adebayor.
The Tottenham striker had been in talks over a loan move with Villa - and been given a tour of their training ground - but the deal has stalled.
Sherwood worked with Adebayor at White Hart Lane and had targeted him to beef up his forward line, despite the arrivals of Jordan Ayew and Rudy Gestede following Christian Benteke's exit.
And the former Spurs boss insisted the deal is not dead for the Togo international.
"If it can be revived and we think it's necessary two parties have got to agree on it. At the moment there's no agreement and he's a Tottenham player,"said Sherwood, ahead of Saturday's trip to Bournemouth.
Sherwood also confirmed he will assess a number of his new signings ahead of the trip to Bournemouth before selecting his side to make sure they are ready for the Barclays Premier League. Defender Jores Okore is out with a knee injury.
Source: PAR
