Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries: Boss won't allow a negative reaction
BOSS Eddie Howe wants to ensure negativity fails to undermine Cherries' promotion push after revealing his wounded troops had taken their Morecambe mauling on the chin. Cherries' 5-0 reverse at Christie Park their heaviest league defeat for more than eight years prompted the doubters to question whether Howe's men could stay the course this season. But with the high-flying Dorset outfit second in League Two and still on target to complete one of their best first halves to a season, Howe is calling for pragmatism rather than panic. He told the Daily Echo: The lads have responded excellently, as they have to every defeat this season. We've worked them hard in training and had always planned to do that anyway. It's nice to have a slightly longer gap between games so we can try to get a few injured bodies back and identify and work on a couple of areas we need to improve on. We've been beaten 4-0 and 5-0 this season and that is clearly something we don't want to make a habit of. It is disappointing because for the majority of the time we've been water tight. But it's important for us and for everybody around us not to over-react after one performance. We're still in such a great position and we don't want any negativity to affect that. Howe, who was in the firing line when Cherries were beaten 6-0 at Peterborough in September 2001, will be looking for an instant response when they host Notts County on Monday. The Magpies will arrive at Dean Court for the Sky-televised showdown with one-time Cherries loanee Dave Kevan at the helm following Hans Backe's shock departure yesterday. Backe stepped down following a brief seven-week stay at Meadow Lane and just 17 days after he guided County to FA Cup second round triumph against Cherries. Howe added: We've had it a couple of times already this season and both Lincoln and Grimsby came here with caretaker managers. Every situation is different at every club. They have been in the media a lot this season but we don't know what goes on behind the scenes and we can't let it worry us. It's 11 versus 11 and it doesn't matter who the manager is, so we tend not to think about it. For us, it is just a case of preparing our lads for the game. I had a good chat with Hans after the cup game and he seemed like a nice guy. He seemed very switched on with the league and knew all the players in our side. He came across really well. Kevan is among a group of players to have made just one appearance for Cherries, his coming as a substitute against Wrexham in April 1994 during a loan spell from Notts County.