STEVE Cook warned Cherries would face trouble in the Premier League if they did not swiftly improve, insisting: "We've been nowhere near good enough for a while."

Cherries have won just one of their past seven games in the top flight and Tuesday's defeat to Crystal Palace saw Eddie Howe's side slip to 14th in the standings, just seven points clear of the relegation zone.

The only member of Howe's squad not to have missed a single minute of Premier League action this term, centre-half Cook admits the 3-3 draw against Arsenal at the start of January – when Cherries surrendered a three-goal lead – could have had a knock-on effect.

He told the Daily Echo: "We are in a battle now and it's down to us. We all need to liven up. It was a bit of an embarrassment against Crystal Palace.

"Maybe we got too ahead of ourselves. As a team we need to get a grip, turn a corner somehow and grind out a result.

"The Palace game was perfect for us and we messed up, big time. We can't lose these sort of games at home – they had not won a league game since the new manager came in.

"It was always going to be a difficult game but given we were at home, it was one of the worst nights I've had because we weren't good enough.

"We've been nowhere near good enough for a while and the draw against Arsenal maybe affected us more than we thought it would."

Cherries' defensive record has attracted criticism of late with the Dorset side having conceded 19 goals in their past eight games in all competitions.

However, the 25-year-old Cook is adamant every player in the squad – regardless of their position – must up their level if Cherries' fortunes are to shift.

He said: "It's easy to blame the defence. We are conceding goals. But every individual in this squad has got to raise their game, otherwise it's going to be a long second half of the season.

"The game against Palace showed the harsh reality of this league and how football can bite you on the backside.

"You need 11 players to play at their maximum to win a game of football and we haven't had that for a long time."

Cherries begin a tough four-game sequence with a visit to Europe-chasing Everton tomorrow (3pm), followed by a home clash with Pep Guardiola's expensively-assembled Manchester City side and away trips to West Brom and Manchester United.

Cook added: "We beat Everton here and there is no reason why we can't go there and win.

"We have got a good bunch of honest lads and the staff to turn this round but we need to do it quickly or we could be in trouble. That's the harsh reality of it.

"We need to get a win as soon as possible. We have shown we are good enough to win games and get results against top teams.

"We are going to need to show a lot of character and resolve in order to get ourselves out of this tough run of form."