ADAM Smith says Cherries knew Leicester were “in a bad spot” before the two sides met on Saturday, adding: “Their crowd turned a little bit.”

Despite the home fans doing their best to whip up an atmosphere ahead of kick-off at King Power Stadium, the team on the pitch struggled to trouble Cherries early on.

The visitors were creating the clearer openings and deservedly took the lead five minutes before half-time, through Philip Billing.

Further chances came and went after the restart, before Cherries survived a late Leicester rally to come away 1-0 winners.

The result saw Cherries climb out of the relegation zone, while Leicester, who have picked up just one point from their past eight league matches, remain 19th, two points from safety with eight games to play.

Asked what the key to victory was for Cherries, right-back Smith said: “Just come here and get three points, to be honest.

“We knew it was going to be a difficult game. They’re in a bad spot, so it was a good start from us. Their crowd turned a little bit.

“I felt that we should’ve been two or three nil up to be honest. That’s the only disappointment.

“We made it hard for ourselves towards the end of the game. But the main point is we got the three points.”

Asked if there was a fear missed chances could come back to haunt them, Smith added: “No, we have full belief that we’re going to create more chances.

“It is a little bit frustrating that we do have that many chances and we’re not ruthless enough.

“That’s something that we need to work on, but I thought the first-half performance was fantastic.

“And then we knew second half they would come out and make it a little bit more difficult. But I’m just so glad to get the three points.”

From the outside, Cherries have been regularly written off, ever since the first day of the season.

They now sit 15th, with 30 points from their 30 matches.

“It doesn’t really bother us,” said Smith when asked about opinions from the outside.

“This is my sixth or seventh time in the Premier League and I think every season everyone has written us off.

“We’re proving everyone wrong, but we’ve still got lots of games to go and we need to get as safe as quick as possible.

“I see a few other teams (near the bottom) got results, so it’s going to be a rollercoaster of a season for these last few games.

“But we just need to concentrate on ourselves and make sure we get to that 40-point mark as quickly as possible.”

Cherries go to Smith's former club Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday (3pm).