EDDIE Howe's decision to make sweeping changes for yesterday's FA Cup third-round clash with Millwall prompted a mixed reaction from supporters.

No stranger to rotating his squad for cup fixtures, boss Howe changed the entire starting XI for the trip to The Den.

Cherries were subsequently condemned to a surprise 3-0 defeat by their League One opponents, with Steve Morison, Shaun Cummings and Shane Ferguson on the scoresheet.

Fans exchanged opinions about the starting XI on the Daily Echo website, with a number of views being expressed.

Julian 2014 said: "This is disrespectful to the FA Cup, the club and the travelling fans. Some players needed a rest but other Premier League clubs put out recognisable sides."

Stanlake said: "This game highlighted the problem of squad players not getting enough competitive football. The cup games are the only chance to give those players not regularly considered for the first team a chance."

AFCBCOYR said: "Eddie is a legend and always will be but his players let him down today. Maybe those who came in should have performed better. Tyrone Mings was the only player who played half decent."

Dekayed Cherry said: "It was a bit of an embarrassing result to say the least. What is does show is the fringe players in the first-team squad, as a reserve team, are not good enough, albeit they have little chance to play as a team."

However, some supporters felt the team selection was justified and showed Howe's priorities laid with the Premier League.

Thefullenglish said: "He will be targeting nine points from the next three games and if we achieve that, we will have all but secured our Premier League status by the end of January. I'll take that in preference to a decent cup run."

Longtimefanlongwayaway said: "The team selection shows where Eddie's priorities (quite rightly) lie. A cup run would be great but the financial incentives are no longer there."

Joel'sGrandad said: "Can anyone be surprised that a weakened team was used? At the end of the season if you go down, will it be any consolation to say at least we beat Millwall in the FA Cup third round?"

Addressing his fellow supporters, spill1 added: "What's all this about, with numerous people asking for a refund? You made the decision to attend, no one forced you and you saw 11 of our men playing against 11 men from another team. Unfortunately, we lost."