CHERRIES’ 1-0 defeat to Norwich on Saturday saw them plunge further into relegation trouble – with Eddie Howe’s men now three points adrift of Premier League safety.

Their loss at Carrow Road, which also saw Steve Cook sent off for a deliberate handball, was a fourth in a row in the top-flight, having picked up just four points from their past 12 games.

With the media spotlight intensifying on Howe and his squad’s fight for survival – here is a selection of opinions on Cherries from former top-flight stars turned pundits...

Bournemouth Echo:

Former European Cup winner and Liverpool legend Phil Thompson after the defeat to the Canaries told Sky Sports: “There’s not a great deal between these two teams.

“Probably when the first sending off happened with the goal Norwich then controlled the game. They were probably the better one.

“The first goal was so strange. What a save by Steve Cook, unbelievable! He goes full length, tips it onto the post and it goes wide.

“Straight away you can see it on his face, he knows he’s going to be off.”

He added: “They (Cherries) are all shot of confidence and that’s the problem with these lads – they are trying to do the (right) things.

“Four defeats on the trot – they haven’t scored and had 10 against in that time. I think you’ve got to do something.

“Maybe take a few loans? Just to shake it up, just to freshen it up to see and then the fans would say is ‘you’re doing something about it’.

“At the moment, they are not good enough, nowhere near.”

Bournemouth Echo:

Speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day, Premier League record goalscorer Alan Shearer said: “Norwich thoroughly deserved their three points, deserved their clean sheet and were the better side from start to finish.

“From a Bournemouth point of view, no team has scored fewer goals than them. They have lost their past four without scoring.

“Really tough time for Bournemouth and their next two, Brighton and Villa are at home - big, big games.”

On Cook’s sending off, ex-Arsenal frontman Ian Wright added: “It’s the last thing that Eddie Howe needs. He’s said it’s instinct but it was a magnificent save.

“You’ve got to let it go in. We’ve got to have a save of the season just to put this in – for him to get off the ground and save that was unbelievable.”

Bournemouth Echo:

Commenting before the defeat to the Canaries on BT Sport, former England and Chelsea winger Joe Cole said: “Eddie Howe I’m a big fan of, I’ve said it constantly.

“You look at the amount of money he’s spent though and this is the first time in his Bournemouth career where I think the spotlight is on Bournemouth as a club.

“There has been a general movement towards more of a relegation fight, when it looked like maybe they would maybe at one point going to be challenging for the top eight.

“For Eddie, I love the way he plays, I love the way he sets up his teams. I think he’s forward thinking but now you are looking at him and going ‘right, this is a real test for him’.

“If he is going to be continually linked with your Arsenal jobs, your Tottenham jobs, he needs to come through this test now and I’m not sure he’s got the group of players there who are ready to get him out of this.”

Bournemouth Echo:

Jermaine Jenas, formerly of Newcastle, Tottenham and England, said: “He (Howe) has spent Premier League money on this team and the pattern is that it’s getting worse.

“I think he’s got a group of players now – some of his bigger players – that don’t seem to be motivated to be performing at the level they were.

“Players like Ryan Fraser, who was setting the world alight last year, Callum Wilson not really getting the numbers he was getting.

“I just feel it’s not a managerial change situation – I feel Eddie Howe should have that job as long as he wants it, I really do. I think he’s done such a good job.

“But the signs are worrying. They have always conceded goals, that is one thing he’s never managed to sort out.

“I actually feel that if Bournemouth were to go down, I think Eddie Howe would be the best person to get them straight back up.

“He knows the club inside out, he has invested in these players and these players would owe him the right to get them back into the Premier League.

“A managerial change would just bring new faces, new players more complications and more issues for Bournemouth. I would definitely stick with him either way.”