EDDIE Howe has urged Cherries to guard against Chelsea’s capability to match the swift starts made by Spurs and Manchester City in recent weeks.

The deposed Premier League champions head to Dorset tomorrow (3pm) on the back of some patchy form but the Cherries boss is adamant the Blues possess the power to fly out of the traps.

On facing top sides, Howe said: “They have turned it on against us, Manchester City were excellent and Liverpool made changes but still had world-class players who made the difference on the day.

“I think the top teams can turn it on and it is all about the early stages of the game, making sure we don’t let them think they will have an easy afternoon.”

Cherries could go level on points with Chelsea should they complete their first Premier League double of the campaign with a victory at Vitality Stadium but Howe’s focus is on giving the fans something to cheer.

“We haven’t talked about a top-10 finish, just this game and making sure we give our best and every effort we have to get a result,” he added.

“I think we owe it to the supporters, who haven’t seen a huge amount of home wins this season, to try to do everything we can to achieve that for them.”