DEFENDER Chris Mepham admits Cherries' recent dip in form has got players "overthinking", but insisted: "There's no forgetting how amazing we've been this year."

After a club-record 15-game unbeaten start to a league season, Scott Parker's men have now slipped off top spot after winning just one of their past four fixtures.

Defeats to Preston North End and Derby County, as well as a draw at Millwall on Wednesday evening, has seen Fulham overtake Cherries at the top of the Championship table.

But Parker's charges still retain a healthy gap to third-placed West Bromwich Albion, and could leapfrog the Cottagers with victory over Coventry City at Vitality Stadium tomorrow afternoon (3pm).

Asked if the first mini blip of the season has affected mood amongst the players in recent weeks, Mepham told the Daily Echo: "I think a little bit, of course.

"We all want to be winning and when you’re winning every week, everything seems happy days and not a problem in the world.

"Of course naturally when you have a bit of a blip, it can frustrate you a little bit and it can get everyone overthinking a little bit.

"But at the same time, it’s a relentless league and the games come so thick and fast, you haven’t really got time to dwell on the past.

"We’ve got an opportunity now tomorrow to put things right and hopefully get back to winning ways."

Cherries face a tough run of fixtures in their bid to get results back on track. After hosting fifth-placed Coventry, Parker's men head to Fulham, before welcoming seventh-placed Blackburn Rovers to Vitality Stadium on December 11.

Asked if he feels this is good chance to get the team moving in the right direction again by beating the sides around them, Mepham said: "Yeah, definitely. I think there’s no forgetting how amazing we’ve been this year in terms of at this point in the season to have that gap to third is credit to us and how well we’ve started the season.

"I don’t think this blip should, in any way, override the fact we’ve had an amazing start and we’ll continue to grow as a team and produce some good results."