Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has rejected the talk of a possible finish in the European spots this season, despite a start to the campaign that has already seen them creep upto the eighth spot in the Premier League.

The 1-0 win over Leicester in mid-week had propelled the Cherries to as high as eighth in the table albeit, for a brief period. But it goes to show how good a season Bournemouth are having this time around.

"Pleased with home form"

Bournemouth currently lie tenth in the league, with a tricky home tie against arch-rivals Southampton beckoning. Ahead of the game though, Eddie Howe lauded the Cherries' home form.

Having lost only two matches at Vitality Stadium this season, Bournemouth are as high as fifth in the away table, only behind the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal.

Howe told: "First things first we’re really pleased with our home form this season."

Home form key to Cherries' chances this season

The Englishman pointed out that the home form was something the men from the South Coast 'needed to improve' after having finished just five points adrift of the last relegation place last season.

Howe admitted that it a 'nice moment' being eighth, but also said that the challenge this season is to 'improve on last year'. The former Burnley boss also said that he hasn't 'thought about Europe for a second',

Howe lauds fans

Apart from giving his take on the things that have been transpiring on the pitch, Howe also talked about the support, which has played a vital role in backing the players to the helm.

Howe referred to the support in the previous two South Coast derbies as being 'terrific' and said that the scenes after last season's 2-0 win over Southampton at Dean Court were 'enjoyable'.

Sunday's opponents in the Saints are currently sitting level on points with Bournemouth, but a better goal-difference has kept them at ninth. And Howe believes that Claude Puel's men haven't tweaked their style, but 'have tweaked their team'.

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Kaustubh Pandey
A 19-year-old football writer. Currently write for CalcioMercato, OutsideOftheBoot, ForzaItalianFootball, BackPageFootball, EPLIndex, Sportscafe and many other websites.