CHERRIES head coach Andoni Iraola is calling on his charges to fly out of the gates against Swansea City this evening (7.45pm) stating they cannot afford another slow start against Championship opposition.

Across the EFL Cup and FA Cup campaigns, Cherries have crossed paths with three different second-tier sides in four matches, with previous encounters seeing a pattern emerge.

Iraola’s side trailed at the break before defeating Swansea 3-2 in the EFL Cup second round back in August, before a lethargic first half against Stoke City in the following round was negated by a dominant performance in the second to win 2-0.

Cherries’ most recent excursion against a Championship team saw them behind by two goals at Loftus Road, eventually roaring back to advance to the fourth round as 3-2 winners.

Aware of his side’s sluggish openings to cup ties against lower-tier opponents, Iraola insisted his messaging will focus on getting his players ready for the tie.

The Basque boss told the Daily Echo: “For sure I will touch on that when I talk to the players.

“We know that we’ve been quite slow to start against teams that play in the Championship.

“We were very slow there when we faced Swansea.

“We were really close to losing that game.

“We could luckily do a very good second half, like we did against QPR and Stoke.

“But sometimes when you give these advantages, you start losing a game, it is always very difficult to turn it.

“We need to start stronger and I hope we have learned the lesson from the previous games.”