JONATHAN Woodgate admitted Cherries "didn't play with any real intensity" as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat against Stoke, their third loss in succession.

That result, coupled with Barnsley drawing against champions Norwich, sees the Tykes leapfrog Cherries in the table.

Woodgate's men end the Championship campaign in sixth spot, setting up a tricky two-legged play-off semi-final with Brentford later this month.

Woodgate made a raft of changes for last weekend's trip to Wycombe, reverting back this weekend largely to the side which embarked on a seven-game winning run during April.

Asked what he put the tepid display against the Potters down to, the head coach told the Daily Echo: "I wouldn’t say (it was) my best side, there’s a couple of places up for grabs.

"We just found it difficult to break them (Stoke) down. We didn’t play with any real intensity.

"We need to move the ball quicker, that’s one thing we need to do which we didn’t do. But we’ll look to improve on that."

Speaking after the game, Lloyd Kelly explained how the players were angry in the dressing room with the performance.

"They’re going to be," said Woodgate.

"I’d be disappointed if they weren’t, because I know they can play miles better than that.

"If you look at the big games they’ve won, winning seven games on the spin is really difficult to do. So we know the lads can play, we know they’re really good players, we didn’t do well enough today."