CHARLIE Daniels hit back at claims he could have been sent off for his part in Cherries’ opening goal during their 4-0 win over Huddersfield yesterday.

Daniels escaped punishment for a challenge on Florent Hadergjonaj which was described by Terriers head coach David Wagner as “a clear harsh tackle”.

Wagner also felt the incident had merited “maybe more than a yellow card” for Daniels, although referee Lee Probert deemed it fair.

As Hadergjonaj lay crumpled in a heap near the halfway line, play continued and Cherries won a corner, from which Callum Wilson headed home to open the scoring.

Daniels told the Daily Echo: “For me, I thought it was a good challenge. It was robust but I felt I got the ball cleanly.

“I caught the guy as well but, for me, it was a perfectly good tackle and credit to the referee for seeing it that way.

“Things have changed recently and challenges like that are maybe going out of the game a bit so credit to the referee for not giving a foul.”

Daniels also felt skipper Simon Francis had been unfortunate to see red for picking up two yellow cards in the first half.

Booked for a foul on Rajiv van La Parra after 35 minutes, Francis was sent packing for felling the same player in stoppage time at the end of the first period.

Daniels, who said he had not had a clear view of the first challenge, said: “I felt the second one was a bit harsh because, 99 times out of a 100, you get another chance.

“But the referee thought it was reckless enough for another yellow card. I didn’t feel he deserved a second yellow.”

The defender added: “Going down to 10 men wasn’t the ideal situation but it is something we work on in training.

“When you have 11 men against 10, it is not as easy as people think. You have to move the ball very quickly and you know the 10 men are just going to stay as a block.

“I felt we blocked really well and were a real threat on the counter attack. We scored a couple of good goals from it.”

Daniels, one of three players to have started every game in the Premier League this season, hopes Cherries have turned a corner following their poor opening to the campaign.

“We knew the start wasn’t good enough,” said the 31-year-old. “We have looked at every aspect of what happened and why it happened and have acted on it.

“I feel we are a much better team than we were at the start of the season. But there is still a long way to go.

“We have won three in four and are on a good run of form. Hopefully, it continues at Swansea because we know that is going to be another tough test.

“They are near the bottom and are fighting for their lives. We know we are going to have to stand up and be counted, like we did in the first half against Huddersfield.

“We weren’t at our best but we didn’t concede. We grabbed a couple of goals and built on it.”