Howe reveals how woeful Bournemouth form affects his position

Eddie Howe admitted he “always” has to consider if he is doing well enough after Bournemouth fell to defeat at Watford.

Howe is coming under pressure having now gone five games without a win in the Premier League – although that time has seen them draw with Arsenal, and advance in the FA Cup.

The loss against Watford saw their opponents move above them and out of the relegation zone, with Bournemouth now languishing in 19th place.

Howe admits he has to “reflect” on his own credentials due to the poor run of form.

He told Match of the Day: “Tough game, we battled and stuck to the game in the first half. It wasn’t a great performance from either team before half-time but the goal sucked the life out of us and gave them a boost.

“We needed to do better. We weren’t creative enough, similar to recent weeks, and the first goal is a hammer blow for us. It is a team thing and we didn’t execute what we wanted, put ourselves under pressure and conceded a poor goal.

“We all learn from those moments and the team has to take responsibility. It was difficult for us today, we had a strong team, good balance, so it’s disappointing.

“We are always concerned when we don’t win. We were desperate to do well. The first goal damaged us mentally and we didn’t recover. We are in a difficult moment and need to lift ourselves.”

Asked how the loss would affect his position as manager, he admitted: “Always looking at whether you are doing good enough, that is something I have to reflect on.”

He further took the responsibility in an interview with Sky Sports.

“I’m not going to blame anybody, we are trying to do the right thing, just haven’t executed it very well” he added. “Confidence, nerves, it is such a key thing – we have been on a difficult run and this week key players have got injured. We had players playing that aren’t 100% fit. When you get a setback we’re not able to lift ourselves in the way we normally would.

“We are not looking free-scoring and when you concede a goal it seems a long way back. We need to focus on both disciplines.

“The manager always has to take responsibility when things aren’t going well. Instilling confidence back to the players is my job.”