NEIL Moss says Ryan ‘Rocky’ Allsop has “taken in his stride” Cherries’ Championship baptism of fire and is adamant the goalkeeper was powerless to prevent Watford’s goal blitz.

Allsop’s bid to write a new chapter in the Dean Court record books bit the dust in no uncertain terms at Vicarage Road when he conceded six for the first time in his fledgling career.

The 21-year-old, who had been hoping to keep a sixth successive away clean sheet, was beaten by Troy Deeney’s hat-trick – including one penalty – two from Gabriele Angella and a Lewis McGugan strike.

Allsop and Cherries will be looking to bounce back when they host FA Cup holders Wigan tomorrow (3pm), the Latics arriving at Dean Court following their Premier League relegation.

Cherries goalkeeper coach Moss told the Daily Echo: “It was a bad second-half performance defensively against a very good attacking team. It has given us a jolt to make sure we go into every game and play the best we can.

“From my point of view, I chatted to Rocky straight after the game and he was quite philosophical about it. He didn’t feel he could have done an awful lot about the goals. I then went through the game with him on DVD, which we do after every game, and there were very few mistakes on his behalf.

“I don’t think he had conceded six before so everything is a test. He has been fine this week and everything has been positive. He has trained hard and trained well. Like the rest of the players, he will be desperate to erase the memory and there would be nothing better than to get three points against Wigan, another very good team.

“For a young lad, he has quite a mature head on his shoulders. He is laid back and is keen to try to put it to bed against Wigan.”

Moss, who has been working with Allsop since he joined Cherries in January, added: “I know it is an obvious statement but a goalkeeper can only save saveable shots.

“It doesn’t matter whether you are playing against Lionel Messi or someone in a Sunday parks game, if a centre-forward happens to hit a shot that is going in the corner, it will beat you.

“It is our job to be as good as we can and as best prepared as we can. If you give chances to Championship players, more often than not, they are going to punish you, both as a team and as a goalkeeper. Our job is to make sure we try to save those shots that are within reach and keep our team in games.”