MANAGER Eddie Howe was quick to reaffirm his belief Cherries would secure Premier League safety but acknowledged: “We are in a key run of games.”

After Saturday’s FA Cup tie with Everton, Cherries tackle Watford, Southampton, Newcastle and Swansea prior to facing a series of more illustrious names.

And on the back of Saturday’s 3-1 setback to Stoke, Howe highlighted the need for a swift response.

Howe said: “I think any defeat can be a positive in time because hopefully, it makes you refocus your aims, ideas and everything you are trying to do.

“That’s what we need to do. We are in a key run of games, an important one for us and we need to make sure we don’t have regrets from this stage.

“It is very much about focusing on the next challenge and knowing we need to do better.”

Howe continued: “We are looking to win every game and every run of fixtures is key. We are aware we have a certain amount of games to get the points we need.

“No team wants to be scrambling round for points at the end of the season so we want to try to do our work now to see if we can get safe early.

“I have always been confident of staying up. It is a tough league and we are at the sharp end of it. Every game is a real test but I believe the squad is good enough.

“I am pleased with the quality we have. I think we do have good options from the bench and I am able to change and rotate things slightly more now.

“That was the disappointing thing, we have good players but I didn’t feel we showed that enough.”