CHERRIES midfielder Philip Billing described his side’s exit out of the FA Cup as “not the end of the world” as it allowed them to turn their full attention to the league.

Leicester City edged out a tight contest 1-0 at Vitality Stadium on Tuesday night, Abdul Fatawu’s curling strike in extra time the difference.

Billing, in his first appearance since serving a three-match suspension for a red card against Nottingham Forest, played the full 120 minutes.

He told BBC Radio Solent after the game: “Disappointed to lose, but I think it was a good test.

“Leicester are a top team, have some good players. A Premier League team in the Championship, pretty much.

“But I think we had a lot of chances and we should have scored - at least hit the target, which we didn’t.

“To be honest, so close to the quarter finals, but for us we need to focus on the league.

“For me, the FA Cup is good, but the club should focus on the league.

“Definitely a missed opportunity, and of course you want to win.

“But it means less games, and we can focus on the league.

“Always disappointed to lose, but it’s not the end of the world.”

Asked if the side looked disjointed due to changes, Billing replied: “I think so. The press wasn’t as tight as we want it to be.

“As soon as people get tired – myself included, I couldn’t run properly in extra time.

“I can only imagine some of the boys that played against City, not too many days ago into a game like this, everybody was tired.”

Cherries were profligate once again, finding the target just four times from 27 efforts.

Billing continued: “We need to score more goals, everyone – we can’t just leave it up to Dom (Solanke). I think personally for me, the last couple of seasons I have been scoring goals.

“This season, I’ve got two. I should be scoring more as well, but sometimes I’m not too selfish – I look out for my teammates when I should shoot more.

“It is what it is."