WINGER David Brooks admitted Cherries had failed to find their rhythm in Saturday’s uninspiring 0-0 draw with Southampton at Vitality Stadium.

Cherries were curiously off-colour in attacking areas and created only a few chances in a turgid affair, Joshua King spurning the best of them when he fired wide from Callum Wilson’s pass.

It was a similar story for Saints with substitute Manolo Gabbiadini missing the pick of their limited opportunities in second-half stoppage time, the Italian international’s header clearing the bar.

Brooks, whose afternoon ended early when he was replaced by Junior Stanislas just short of the hour, felt a draw was a reasonable outcome.

He told the Daily Echo: “Both teams had chances to win it so a point was a fair result. I don’t think we were at our best so we will take the point and will try to get three on Saturday.

“Sometimes you have those kind of days. We all wanted to play well and, for the fans it was a derby day, but we just couldn’t find our rhythm.

“We back ourselves to score most games so it was important to keep a clean sheet and we did that but, unfortunately, we just couldn’t find the target at the other end.

“Clean sheets are hard to come by in the Premier League so credit to the team for digging in and getting it. That was a positive taken.”

Brooks’s fellow wide man Ryan Fraser, who has played a starring role in Cherries’ flying start to the season, also experienced an unusually quiet afternoon.

Fraser said: “It wasn’t a very good game. I think both teams were off it.

“Both teams tried to go for it but we kept cancelling each other out. But every point in the Premier League is a point gained.

“We will take the confidence from that going into Fulham next week. Hopefully, we will play a bit better and get the win.”

Centre-half Steve Cook played his part in a determined rearguard effort which saw Cherries keep their second clean sheet on the spin.

He said: “Southampton probably looked at our strengths out wide and man-marked our wingers, played quite defensively and tried hitting us on the break and at set-plays.

“We started the game well and could have been ahead after a couple of minutes but we never really backed that up.

“Southampton managed the game quite well, slowed it down, got a lot of fouls and knocked us out of our stride.

“It wasn’t a fantastic game but a point in the Premier League is never to be turned away. Hopefully, it will be a vital point as we move forward.”

Cook’s outing ensured he maintained his record of not missing a minute of top-flight action this season.

The other two players at the club to have achieved the same feat are Nathan Ake and Asmir Begovic.

In fact, Begovic has not missed a minute in the league since he joined Cherries from Chelsea in the summer of 2017.