BOSS Eddie Howe revealed how the psychological help given to members of his Cherries squad had proved beneficial and admitted he wished that support had been more readily available in his playing days.

Howe feels work done to improve players' mental make-up can hugely influence their performances on the pitch.

And the Cherries manager, a cultured defender during his playing career, was adamant any edge which could be gained from using the expertise of a psychologist was worth pursuing.

Howe told the Daily Echo: "We do quite a lot of work with the players on that aspect and I think it's been beneficial. It's a massive part of the game and a very underrated and misunderstood part of football.

"When I was playing, there was always a weakness attached to anyone who wanted to talk to anybody or discuss problems and issues.

"That was to the detriment of the player, to be honest, because there is so much that goes into a player's performance before they play, not just how their body feels but their mind as well, because it is such a massive factor in everything you do.

"Some players don't need anything, they think they are fine and if that's the case then it is not forced upon them, but some players need help, guidance and advice.

"It can be personal issues as well because you have to remember players are human beings and they do have personal problems away from the club as we all do in our lives.

"To help them with that or to solve a problem before a game, just to relax their mind, I think is massive."

Asked whether he had experienced a different approach to psychology during his playing career, Howe added: "We had that option but it wasn't as freely available as it is now and it wasn't as understood as it is now.

"As a player, I would have done anything to make myself better or to give myself a chance of going out and performing well."

Meanwhile, Cherries are currently preparing to face a Sunderland team with only two points from 10 Premier League games this term.

But Simon Francis insists his side will not be distracted by the Wearsiders' predicament as they look to bounce back from last week's defeat at Middlesbrough.

Skipper Francis told the Daily Echo: "We can’t take them lightly, as with any team in the Premier League. I said before the game at Middlesbrough we had to try to match the intensity we played with against Tottenham.

"Anything less and you can be beaten by anyone in this division. So we have to get back to that, match the work-rate we put in against Tottenham and hopefully get the result against Sunderland."

Left-back Charlie Daniels added: "It’s massive for us. If you lose one, you don’t want to lose two in a row. We’ll be working really hard to eradicate the mistakes we made at Middlesbrough and trying to improve, as we always do."