Eddie Howe: 'Manchester United draw was turning point'

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has said that his side's 1-1 draw with Manchester United earlier this month has been a turning point in their season.

The Cherries had lost five and drawn two of their seven league outings in 2017 before holding on for a valuable point with 10 men at Old Trafford, and since that result they have strung together back-to-back wins for the first time in more than a year.

Joshua King was the hero with a hat-trick against West Ham United last weekend, while Benik Afobe was on the scoresheet during today's 2-0 win over Swansea City, and Howe is "delighted" for both of his strikers.

"I am delighted for him, Afobe, as I was for Josh last week. To have goalscorers doing their job and putting the ball in the net for us is massive, it's massive for any team. The confidence that you can score goals in any moment, that you have the ability to open up defences. I thought his second goal tonight was a really good finish at a big moment in the game," he told reporters.

"There have been really positive steps for us in the last three games. Manchester United was a real turning point for us and then we have backed it up with the two home games that we knew were so important, especially with the fixtures we have to come. Full credit to the players because it is one thing knowing the importance of the games but actually going out and delivering a very good performance again tonight, our players were very impressive.

"We were going through a spell where everything that could go wrong was going wrong and the players hadn't changed, the mentality of the group hadn't changed which is the most important thing and I did feel that if we kept doing the right things then the results would turn."

Bournemouth's resurgence has left them 11th in the Premier League table, now nine points clear of the relegation zone.