Bournemouth sit six points above the relegation zone as they face Manchester City, but their manager believes he has the experience to weather the storm
It is at times such as these when Eddie Howe benefits from a sense of perspective. Bournemouth, ninth at the turn of the year, suddenly hover precariously above a six-club free-for-all at the foot of the Premier League, their confidence on the wane after a solitary win in eight games, defensive options decimated, and Gabriel Jesus, Leroy Sané and, if necessary, Sergio Agüero to be unleashed upon them at the Vitality Stadium on Monday. If that were not bad enough, Manchester City have scored 13 times in these sides’ three meetings in the top flight.
As scenarios go, this all feels ominous. Yet Howe can always point to having emerged from worse. Even at a club forever seeking to progress, there are occasions when reminders of the darker days before their sprint up through the divisions are opportune. “When I look back to the League Two days, they couldn’t have been bleaker,” offered the manager. “Then, going for promotion in League One, we lost five in a row and everyone thought we were going to sink back into oblivion.” He acknowledged the “heavy blows” suffered with early-season thrashings at Watford and Huddersfield as his players adjusted to life in the second tier, “so we’ve been in trickier situations than this, believe me”.
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