ASSISTANT boss Jason Tindall knows Cherries will only silence their small band of critics by rediscovering the winning formula.

But Tindall was quick to refute some supporters’ claims that the wheels had come off Cherries’ promotion push and urged them to take a “reality check”.

Cherries tonight face rejuvenated Nottingham Forest on the back of collecting just two points from their past three games in the Championship (7.45pm).

Speaking ahead of last night’s round of matches, Tindall told the Daily Echo: “We haven’t won in three games and if that is the wheels coming off then we need to pinch ourselves and reassess. We certainly don’t think that and that is important.

“As long as we know and believe in what we’re doing then the only way you can answer those critics is by going out and getting positive results, as we have all season. That’s the main thing to concentrate on and forget what everybody else is saying.

“It is disappointing when you hear people criticise and jumping on the bandwagon. What do some people expect? Do they expect us to be 15 points clear in one of the most competitive divisions in Europe?

“For a club like ours to be where we are is a great achievement. These people probably need to take a reality check and analyse how far this club has come in such a short space of time.

“It’s easy for people to say that but you have to look at performances and how well the team and everybody at the club have done to be where we are now.

“To be fighting with the likes of Derby and to be above clubs like Blackburn, Forest, Watford and Norwich and competing for the title is an incredible achievement with 14 games to go and I don’t think people can lose sight of that.

“It knocks confidence a little when you don’t win, especially when we felt we should have. We had enough chances to have won the games and were leading in a couple.

“But that is the Championship and you can’t predict results. Three of the top teams slipped up on Saturday and that just goes to show how tough it is.

“We have always responded in the right way so, hopefully, we can go to Forest and turn another good performance into three points. The most important thing is to focus and concentrate on our own performance in our next game. It is going to be a tough one but Forest is a great place to go and to try to prove a few of the doubters wrong.”