MARC Pugh says "top class" Eddie Howe will be "relishing the challenge" of lifting Cherries out of their poor run of form.

Pugh played 79 minutes of Cherries' 2-1 defeat at West Brom on Saturday, a result which left Howe's side five points above the Premier League's bottom three.

They have not won any of their seven Premier League matches in 2017 but winger Pugh insists his "level-headed" boss is not changing his measured approach to the job.

Pugh told the Daily Echo: "The manager is top class. He will never change his philosophy. We don’t want to change that philosophy. It’s brought us success and I am sure there is a lot more success to come.

"Eddie will never be really ruthless with a player.

"But if training is not going well, if we’re not on it, or we're lacking that cutting edge or tempo, he will have a bit of a go, a bit of a shouting match for a couple of minutes – then he’ll calm down!

"He’s a calm guy. He won’t buckle under pressure. He will be relishing the challenge and I am sure he will turn things around.

"He never shows his emotions too much – whether in the press, on the training ground or during games. He just keeps level-headed and that is why he will go a long way in the game."

Cherries were stung by two goals inside 12 first-half minutes at The Hawthorns.

Baggies defender Craig Dawson's 10th-minute shot flew past Artur Boruc, with a little assistance from Charlie Daniels's deflection, before Gareth McAuley seized on a Boruc error to thump his team into the lead.

All this after Joshua King had opened the scoring from the penalty spot on the five-minute mark. But Pugh insists Cherries are in no mood to start panicking, with the manager leading the way in that respect.

"We are five points clear of the relegation spots and it’s certainly not panic stations," said Pugh. "But there are 12 games left and we do need to pick up wins really quickly.

"The manager always says that after a game there is no point in ranting and raving. It is not going to achieve anything.

"He will analyse the game, watch it back three or four times and see where we’ve gone wrong.

"Then during the week we will have individual meetings and he will pull players in to show them clips and tell them where they can improve.

"I think he has got that spot on."

Asked if Cherries would adopt a more direct approach in their search for vital points, Pugh was unequivocal.

"No chance – if we start lumping the ball the manager will be on us from the touchline," he said.

"It’s alright playing pretty football but we need to create chances and score goals as well.

"We can’t just go through the motions and keep the ball for 90 minutes.

"West Brom showed that. They were clinical in the box and scored two goals – and they hardly had any possession in the game."