Eddie Howe hails strength of Bournemouth squad

Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe has hailed the strength of his squad after they booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup courtesy of a 5-1 win over Rotherham United.

Howe made eight changes to his team for the clash against the Millers, but the Cherries still prevailed with an emphatic victory thanks to a brace from Yann Kermorgant and strikes from Shaun MacDonald, Ryan Fraser and Junior Stanislas.

Howe told reporters: "I think it underlined the strength in our squad. It was a slightly scrappy first half where we weren't at our best early in the game but the lads turned on the style in the second half.

"It was a really enjoyable game to watch and we were clinical in front of goal. We're very pleased.

"A lot of the players haven't had the football that they would want. I thought once we scored our first goal it gave us the confidence to go on and in the second half we played with real freedom."

Bournemouth are next in action in the Championship on January 10 when they welcome Norwich City to Dean Court.