BOSS Eddie Howe believes Cherries are finally starting to reap the benefits of their tireless pre-season endeavours working on their defending.

Shut-outs in wins against Newcastle and Huddersfield saw Cherries keep back-to-back clean sheets for only the fourth time in the Premier League.

A poor start to the campaign saw Howe’s team ship no fewer than 11 goals in their first six games – with just three conceded in their past six.

Despite finishing ninth last season, Cherries let in 67 goals and had the fourth worst defensive record with Sunderland (69), Swansea (70) and Hull (80) behind them.

They also conceded 67 times in their debut campaign in the top flight, a total they shared with relegated Norwich and worsened only by Aston Villa (76), who also went down.

Cherries will bid to make it a hat-trick of successive clean sheets for the first time since they joined the Premier League when they visit struggling Swansea on Saturday.

Howe told the Daily Echo: “Our defensive record had to improve and we spent a lot of time during pre-season working on it.

“Maybe it didn’t show during the early part of the season but, hopefully, we are getting the benefit now.”

Cherries’ 4-0 win over Huddersfield also significantly boosted their goal tally – having netted only seven times in their first 11 league games.

And with the likes of West Brom, Southampton and Newcastle all suffering heavy defeats, Cherries’ goal difference also improved quite considerably.

Howe added: “Of course we want to score goals and our first thought is to attack. It always has been and that has never changed.

“For whatever reason, we have been slow in that department this season so, hopefully, the four goals against Huddersfield were a sign that it may change.”

Howe highlighted the displays of central defenders Nathan Ake and Steve Cook against the Terriers, the pair also pivotal to the 1-0 win at Newcastle earlier this month.

He said: “Nathan was always in the right place at the right time. There were a lot of crosses coming into our box in dangerous areas and he was there where we needed him to be.

“Alongside Steve Cook, I thought they were both very good. You could see Huddersfield were a good team, especially in the early stages, so there are certainly things for us to improve on and take a look at but they were big performances from those two.”

Victory over Huddersfield – Cherries’ third win in their past four games – saw them climb to 13th. Having taken just three points from their first six games, they have earned 10 from their past six.

Howe said: “When you don’t start the season well, you put yourselves under pressure.

“This is a very tough league to win one game, never mind consecutive games.

“When you are in good form, it is very important you are able to win.

“Draws are great but winning is everything and it makes such a difference.

“These back-to-back wins will hopefully give us a huge lift at a stage when we really needed it.”