HARRY Arter says Cherries go into Sunday's south coast derby with Southampton determined to stabilise their "yo-yoing" form.
Eddie Howe's men have failed to register back-to-back Premier League wins since March – when they beat Saints, Newcastle and Swansea to bring up a hat-trick of victories.
Their 1-0 triumph over Leicester on Tuesday, coupled with Wednesday's results, saw Cherries end matchweek 16 in 10th place.
Had they lost and other results gone against them, Cherries could have been just three points above the relegation zone, instead of nine.
Arter told the Daily Echo: "Our motivation has to be to make sure we don’t find ourselves looking over our shoulders.
"We had a great win against Liverpool but followed up with the disappointment at Burnley.
"We have to make sure we stop that yo-yoing and get a few back-to-back wins so we can keep looking upwards rather than behind us."
To that end, Arter insists Cherries' players cannot invest too much emotion into the club's rivalry with Southampton.
While supporters are desperate to see their side better the Hampshire outfit in the Premier League, Arter and his team-mates are focused on outperforming as many of their top-flight counterparts as possible.
"We want to do as well as we can in this league," said the midfielder. "As players, we don’t really think about things like rivalries.
"We just want to be as high as we can in the league and hopefully be in front of as many teams as we can.
"But there was a great atmosphere when we played Southampton here last season. It’s a big game for the fans and hopefully we can perform."
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