THEY say it is easy to be wise after the event, hindsight being a wonderful thing and all that.

Since returning to Dean Court just 36 days ago, Eddie Howe has seen Cherries embark on a seven-match unbeaten run in League One.

The sequence, which has included six wins, has propelled them from the relegation zone to within four points of the play-off places.

The 19 points accrued from those seven games have already exceeded the 18 managed by previous boss Paul Groves during his turbulent 18-match reign.

Cherries have also amassed 19 goals during their recent purple patch having mustered just 20 in their previous 20 games, the first of which was a 1-0 defeat at Oldham, the final match of Lee Bradbury’s tenure.

While there are lies, damned lies and statistics, the evidence is overwhelming. Groves was clearly out of his depth, his appointment as Bradbury’s successor appearing more ill advised as every day passes under Howe.

However, despite his shortcomings, Groves, who had hardly set the world alight during his stint as caretaker, deserves credit for some of his signings, even if his management techniques seemed fundamentally flawed.

Lewis Grabban, Groves’s second summer acquisition when he became a surprise £300,000 signing from League Two Rotherham United, is a clear case in point.

The 24-year-old was named by Groves in every squad during Cherries’ first 12 league and cup games, starting eight, coming off the bench in two and unused in the other two.

Although he had his moments and showed glimpses of his undoubted potential, the jury remained undecided as a number of indifferent displays hardly made Grabban an instant hit with Cherries supporters.

However, the player’s inconsistencies were matched by the manager’s and one of Groves’s biggest failings was his insistence to chop and change his starting line-ups.

Grabban performed reasonably well and scored his first goal for the club in a 1-1 draw with MK Dons in Cherries’ opening game of the season at Goldsands Stadium in August.

His reward? He was promptly dropped and relegated to the bench for the next game against Preston, a decision which begged the question about what sort of message this would send out to the rest of the squad.

In 12 league and cup games, Groves only named the same starting line-up once in successive matches – at Portsmouth in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy and at Yeovil in League One, coincidentally or not, Cherries’ only win under him.

Groves used no fewer than 24 different starters in Cherries’ first 10 league games, while Howe has used 13 in the six teams he has selected so far, eight of whom have played every game with Grabban, Simon Francis and Charlie Daniels having missed only one.

Grabban’s performances under Howe have epitomised the new-found confidence and optimism coursing through the squad, his hat-trick and all-round display against the Latics proof of this.

In common with most of his team-mates, Grabban has started to deliver on a regular basis as Cherries have rapidly set about repairing the damage done during the early part of the season.

Upon his arrival, Howe said he would be keen to ensure the expectations of the supporters remained in check.

Asked by the Daily Echo during his post-match press conference on Saturday how he felt he was dealing with the task, Howe afforded himself a wry smile.

“We look good at the moment but you can’t get carried away,” he said. “Win, lose or draw, you have to take the positives and look at the things you have done well and the things you can improve on.

“You take that into your next game, regardless of the result. Saturday night and Sunday are better on the back of a win but we have got to try to do it again on Tuesday against Stevenage.”

Oldham may have been lulled into a false sense of security as they more than matched Cherries during an uneventful opening period, although the visitors had a chastening experience as Howe’s men upped the ante after the break.

Grabban started the ball rolling for Cherries’ rampant second-half showing when he diverted Harry Arter’s miscued shot past Latics goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis to make it 1-0 eight minutes after half-time.

Then, just a minute later, he applied a sublime finish to a Francis cross to double Cherries’ lead before completing his hat-trick when he fired home the rebound after Arter’s 71st-minute penalty had been saved by Bouzanis.

Cherries had Arter and Shaun MacDonald contributing the artistic brushstrokes in central midfield and Marc Pugh and Josh McQuoid providing pace and penetration from the wings. Grabban, in tandem with Lee Barnard, worked tirelessly up front.

Shell-shocked Oldham were caught napping again when a canny free-kick routine ended with Daniels heading Pugh’s delivery past Bouzanis.

Latics boss Paul Dickov said he had been “embarrassed” by his team’s second-half capitulation, Matt Smith’s headed goal four minutes from time proving nothing more than a consolation.

Match facts and Echo merit marks

Cherries: James 7, Francis 8, Addison 7.5, Elphick 8, Daniels 8, McQuoid 7.5, MacDonald 8.5, Arter 8 (O’Kane, 79), Pugh 7.5 (McDermott, 84), Barnard 7, Grabban 9 (Fogden, 77).

Unused subs: Fletcher, Tubbs, Cook, Jalal (g/k).

Booked: Arter, McDermott.

Latics: Bouzanis, Wabara, M’Voto, Byrne, Grounds, Croft (Smith, 58), Simpson (Sutherland, 58), M’Changama (Winchester, 77), Montano, Derbyshire, Baxter.

Unused subs: Brown, Tarkowski, Hughes, Cisak (g/k).

Booked: Grounds, Baxter, Winchester.

Attendance: 6,118 (including 209 visiting supporters).

Referee: Steve Rushton (Staffordshire).

Star Man

Lewis Grabban

With a number of excellent individual performances contributing to this victory, this week’s award was a close call.

However, for registering a clinical hat-trick with some incisive finishing, Grabban deservedly gets the plaudits.

The unassuming 24-year-old has taken time to settle since moving to Dean Court but is starting to come out of his shell under Eddie Howe. In this form, he could prove to be one of the signings of the season by previous boss Paul Groves.

Shaun MacDonald also deserves rich praise for bossing the midfield, while Josh McQuoid and Marc Pugh were a constant threat on the flanks as Cherries dominated the second half.