There will be easier games than Man City

I can't be too disheartened by the performance the Cherries put in against Man City. They have a first rate coach and some experienced top four players that would walk into most sides in the Premier League. To judge the defeat as a failure to halt the run of games that AFCB have been on would be to misjudge where each club is at and their aims.

AFCB took the game to City.

There is always a hope that a game against one of the big boys will go for you and AFCB set out to play Man City with plenty ideas and promise. While they kept the chances for City down quite well early on, they had to stand up to some excellent play from City. They won't be facing that kind of team every week and the games that matter will be those when they need to put their chances away.

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Beating the sides around AFCB is what it is all about now. The players have to turn up when they are not playing the top six and that is what has been disappointing if anything this season. The players know that their Premier League status is on the line though for the remaining games and they simply can't afford to be nervous or hesitant against the teams they now need to beat.

Something has clicked in the players. They were not clearly thinking that they could get sucked into a relegation battle, but the last few weeks have switched them on and the big defeat against Everton is probably what some of the players will look back at come the end of May and say we actually benefited from being hit that hard then. It has at least given the Cherries enough games that left to get themselves out of trouble.