EDDIE Howe may be about to receive the Freedom of the Borough – but he has urged his Cherries side not to afford Manchester City the same honour.

Howe is on Tuesday set to be presented with Bournemouth Borough Council’s highest award but his initial focus is on putting a spoke in the wheel of City’s title charge.

Pep Guardiola’s side is stacked with world-class talent including Sergio Aguero – the top flight’s leading scorer – and Raheem Sterling, who has 12 goals and nine assists in the league this season.

Cherries have conceded 30 goals in their past 10 games against the Big Six and boss Howe feels “strength in numbers” against City will be key if they are to improve that statistic.

Asked about his award, Howe said: “It’s a really nice thing. It’s recognition for the team and the club and I really want to share it with everyone connected with Bournemouth.

“But now, as we prepare for Man City, it’s the last thing on my mind.

“There have been some games where we have defended very well. I think back to clean sheets here against Brighton and Chelsea, where the whole team defended so well and the mentality was so good.

“And then there’s the other side where we have conceded in batches and have had difficult games where we haven’t looked as solid.

“It comes back to consistency. We know we are capable of it – we’ve proved it in other games but haven’t done it often enough.

“They can only pick 11 and that’s how we have to look at it. I don’t think we can look at names and the size of squads.

“It’s not important. The thing which is important is the players on the pitch and going into battle against them and trying to overcome the challenge.”

Asked about how he would approach nullifying the threat posed by Sterling, Howe said: “It’s about the team functioning well, it’s not about one individual battle.

“Although the player performing against him will have a big bearing on his success, it’s about the players around him doing their jobs – not leaving too much space and not leaving people isolated in individual battles.

“Against a team like Manchester City, you need strength in numbers.

“We hope to keep him quiet if he plays. Full respect to him for the season he has had.”

Howe was part of the only Cherries side to prevent City from scoring in a competitive game when he lined up in a Dean Court stalemate in the old Division Two almost exactly 20 years ago. The likes of Steve Fletcher and Richard Hughes also figured.

“There was a time when I would have recalled the game but I don’t remember it now,” said Howe.

“But I do remember in general the games against Man City. At the level we were at, they were always the biggest games of the season.

“Back then, they were a huge club in that division. I remember playing away from home against them a couple of times and they were great games and great experiences.”