AFTER an autumn of promise, we are now deep in the long, hard winter of realisation and hard truths.

Cherries are in a relegation battle and no amount of reflection on how things could have turned out if Steve Fletcher hadn't scored that goal against Grimsby is going to paper over the cracks.

Coming from the depths of League Two and, at one point, from the pit of near non-existence before Fletcher's big moment, has provided some supporters with an ever-lasting excuse to turn a blind eye to periods of Premier League failure.

"Look at where we've come from. Simply being in this league is a dream," say so many.

There's nothing wrong with positivity in the face of melancholy, of course, but the rose-tinted view is now hazed and distorted.

Is this a supporter base that wants to make new memories or simply reflect on how bad life would be if it was still Accrington away rather than Manchester United on a cold Saturday in February?

Eddie Howe's answers to those questions lie in his unflinching and relentless pursuit of success. Traits which make him the right man to firstly answer his current critics, of which there are many, and then wake up the slumbering souls who cannot see any success beyond what AFC Bournemouth has already achieved.

Howe's CV rightly provides him with a little breathing space and a degree of protection when times are hard.

In a football era when managers are jettisoned without owners giving so much as a passing consideration to sticking with the status quo, this cannot be a bad thing.

If anyone in football deserves the rare commodity of 'time' then it is Eddie Howe.

The Cherries boss is not immune from pressure brought on by two points and a demoralising FA Cup defeat (more on that later) since the turn of the year.

But social media calls for Howe to be replaced are naive and as borderline nonsensical as those who are blindsiding the reality of what is now very much a fight to stay up.

Cherries have been seemingly unable to shrug off the knock in confidence stemming from throwing away a 3-0 lead at home to Arsenal.

For a group of players where belief very much underpins talent, conceding 16 goals in five league games since January 3 is stark proof of the crisis in confidence swamping Howe's ranks. And, granted, some of it could have been avoided.

Eleven changes and a 3-0 FA Cup defeat at Millwall placed an unwanted spotlight on Howe, a manager whose position at a smaller club has enabled him to achieve on the fringes of the radar for so long.

After that defeat, eyes, all of a sudden, were on Howe's next move – which was a 3-1 defeat at Hull City seven days later, having been in front as they were against the Gunners.

The post-Millwall criticism of Howe's rotation policy from national commentators and pundits created an unhelpful sideshow around the manager prior to the game on Humberside.

Two defeats and a draw since then, including Saturday's rugby score at Goodison Park, have done little to blur the focus, nor has a transfer window with so little to show for it.

Howe's stock is potentially as low as it has been, with many blaming his recruitment policy for recent poor form, yet these are slurs on an aspect of football club management for which Howe is not solely responsible.

Howe, don't forget, was in game mode on deadline day, while club officials behind the scenes who, unlike the manager, have no obligation to face the media on Friday mornings, presumably tried, and failed, to get ink on paper as the clock ticked.

Howe's focus, and rightly so, was on the football. It always will be. The next win and turning the tide.

A dry January has left Howe needing to work with what he has, but what he has should be more than enough to emerge with Premier League status firmly intact.

Cherries were ninth in the table post-Arsenal – ability does not pack up and depart overnight, yet confidence has deserted Cherries when they need it most.

The supporters' role in Howe's quest to rebuild the foundations of belief that, ironically, were non-existent during the dark days so many are now using to shield them from the realities of the here and now should be based around a determination to stay up and then look forward, to want more than simply "being here".

For advice on that, they need look no further than the manager – as should those who are calling for him to go.