BOSS Eddie Howe is confident Jermain Defoe will play a pivotal role in propelling Cherries up the Premier League table.

Defoe has netted once in nine appearances this season following his summer move from Sunderland and came off the bench in Cherries' 1-0 defeat against his former club Tottenham seven days ago.

Howe, speaking ahead of today's visit to Stoke, insisted the 35-year-old frontman remained central to his plans.

"Jermain is going to be a big player for us this season," said Howe. "He is going to have many uses and sometimes that will be from the bench.

"We changed things tactically at Spurs and it worked very well.

"Jermain is a key part of our squad this season. Even when he came on at Tottenham, we noted how bright he looked. He will score goals in this team.

"I think there is an element of managing his workload. The front players, the explosive sprinters, you have to make sure they are fresh going into games.

"And we are lucky where we have a pool of strikers to pick from. When Callum Wilson comes back after his knee injury, we will have five outstanding strikers who would all say they deserve to start."

Cherries sit 19th with just one win from eight games ahead of today's clash in the Potteries and Howe admitted they had to find form quickly.

"Managerial sackings already this season are a sign that there's a lot of extreme reactions to one result one way or the other," said Howe, in response to a question about Craig Shakespeare leaving Leicester.

"I'm reluctant to say it's too early to draw conclusions, but we know we've go to start picking up points and winning games to have a successful season.

"I'm confident in the players' ability and character that we can do this.

"There's nothing drastically wrong. I would defend the team, but we can still do better."

Manchester City hammered Stoke 7-2 at the Etihad seven days ago but Howe does not think that will leave the Potters any more vulnerable.

Howe believes the increasing strength of the league's big boys means their results can almost be discounted when gauging opponents' form.

"Games like Manchester City, you just have to take out of context," said Howe.

"Some of the football they played in that game was incredible but, from our perspective, it's just one strange game in terms of the scoreline.

"I do think the quality in those teams has gone up this season.

"This year, I'm very impressed. Even the Manchester City game when we were close to them, you had to admire their quality in getting the result.

"Tottenham, watching their games, you admire their quality, and they are strong, and Manchester United have gone up a level as well.

"We've got to find a way to try to pick up points in games against the top teams."