EDDIE Howe admitted he had been concerned by Cherries’ missing “urgency” and “endeavour” after they had fallen behind in their 3-1 defeat at Hull.

Junior Stanislas’s penalty handed the visitors a third-minute advantage over the Tigers before Abel Hernandez equalised against the run of play just past the half-hour mark – the game's “key moment” according to Cherries boss Howe.

Hernandez struck again shortly after the break, with Tyrone Mings putting through his own net on 62 minutes to seal Hull's victory.

“I felt their first goal was probably the key moment in the game,” said Howe.

“From that moment, we never seemed to recover our composure.

“I don’t know why. It’s a really difficult one to work out.

“We didn’t have our usual response to going behind. That was a disappointing factor in the game.

“When you are chasing the game, you expect a bit more urgency, a little bit more endeavour to try to find a way back in there.

“That seemed to be missing. I think that is a concern.”

While Howe rued Cherries’ inability to capitalise on their initial supremacy, he also conceded their recent defensive record was causing him some alarm.

They have shipped three goals in seven of their past nine Premier League games.

“I just felt we didn’t really go for Hull’s throat," said Howe. "I felt we were content with one.

“The flow of the game changed when they equalised and, from that moment, we never got control back.

“When you look at the goals individually, they were all disappointing to concede. Every goal is, to be honest.

“There are always things in hindsight you feel you could have done better as a team. But it’s happening on too regular a basis for us.”

Prior to the match, Howe had urged his defenders to deliver a performance that would dissuade him from entering the transfer market this month.

It was an issue he did not want to expand on in the immediate aftermath of events at the KCOM Stadium – albeit he confirmed Nathan Ake’s recent return to Chelsea could influence his thinking.

“We will wait and see... but probably now is not the right time to give you transfer news," said Howe.

“We hadn’t planned to do much this January, but Nathan’s departure may potentially lead us into a scenario we hadn’t anticipated.”

Mings’ own goal capped a tough afternoon for the defender, signed 18 months ago from Ipswich.

The 23-year-old was making his first Premier League start after his Cherries’ career stalled in the traps when he suffered a serious knee injury in August 2015.

“I thought there were some really good bits in Tyrone’s performance,” added Howe.

“He’s had such a long time out, he’s playing in a converted position. It was a big day for him.

“He started the game very well, like the rest of the team.

“Then, there will be a few moments in there, probably like every player, that he will reflect on and learn from.”