BOSS Eddie Howe says Cherries’ players are fully focusing on their Watford task amid the hype surrounding their FA Cup showdown with Liverpool.

Cherries entertain the Premier League giants in an eagerly-anticipated televised fourth round clash which has captured the imagination of supporters.

But with a league match against Watford tomorrow (3pm), Howe insists his men will not become distracted as they look to go into cup week on the back of a win.

He told the Daily Echo: “The players are not the types to come in and start talking about Liverpool because they know – as do I – that the important game is Watford.

"We would love to go into the Liverpool game on a high with a good league result. It would mean we could prepare and enjoy the week leading up to it.”

Howe is confident Cherries have benefited from the 6-1 defeat they suffered against Watford at Vicarage Road.

He added: “Hopefully, we have improved. I would like to think so.

"In hindsight, it was probably a positive thing that we were able to learn from that defeat and use it as a motivation to make sure we got our heads down and worked very hard.

“We also knew that if we fell from our standards in this league, we would get punished.”

Howe reported no fresh injury concerns following the cup victory over Burton on Wednesday.