CHERRIES skipper Simon Francis has admitted he suffered a “little dip in form” prior to Saturday's crucial victory over West Ham.

Francis endured a testing start to 2017. He was suspended for three games following his sending off against Arsenal, before being blighted by a hamstring problem on his return to the team.

To compound a difficult period Francis made fatal errors in matches against Crystal Palace and Everton, leading him into a period of reflection during his injury layoff.

Francis, who played every one of Cherries' Premier League games last season, told the Daily Echo: “I found it really tough (missing matches). It was the first time in my Bournemouth career that I’ve been in and out of the team.

“I haven’t enjoyed it, especially as we haven’t picked up results. Watching that made it even tougher.

“I’ll be the first to admit I had a little dip in form, making individual mistakes that have cost us over the past few weeks.

“It is something to reflect on and I did that while I was injured and missing games.”

Francis’s suspension coincided with Cherries exiting the FA Cup at League One Millwall and taking one point from two Premier League matches.

After playing in the defeat by Crystal Palace he lasted only half of the 6-3 loss at Everton owing to his hamstring injury – the same issue that forced him off 23 minutes into last month’s game against Manchester City.

Asked if his return against West Ham, having missed the previous two matches against West Bromwich and Manchester United, amounted to one of his biggest occasions in a Cherries shirt, Francis said: “It did, personally, after being suspended and injured, and not having had a run of games.

“Coming back into the team knowing we needed to get a win – obviously you want to win every game – but knowing how important it is at this time of the season, the lads felt a little bit of pressure.

"We’ve been there before, though. We’ve been questioned many times – we went on bad runs and lost games in the Championship.

"But we know the strength we have inside the changing room and with everyone involved at the club."

The three points banked at the weekend moved Cherries to within touching distance of the Premier League’s top-10 – that on a day when they could conceivably have slipped to within three points of the drop zone.

Francis says the next target is to beat Swansea on Saturday and complete successive top-flight victories for the first time this season.

He said: “We need those back-to-back wins. They can take you from looking behind you, to looking ahead of you.

“We’ve not been looking behind us but you can’t help notice those teams have been picking up points.

“While a lot of people outside the club have been saying we are in a relegation battle we are trying stay confident, look ahead of us and see who we can catch.”