Eddie Howe pleased by 'professional' Bournemouth

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has praised his team for their professionalism following Saturday's 8-0 thrashing of Birmingham City in the Championship.

The Cherries were rampant at St Andrew's yesterday afternoon, scoring three goals in the first half before hitting the net five times in the second.

Despite his side's ruthlessness in the final third, Howe believes that they should be proud of how they "didn't showboat" against 10-man Birmingham.

"We got a great start and the sending-off was a key moment in the game," he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

"From that moment it was always going to be difficult for Birmingham and we really put them to the sword in the second half. The most pleasing aspect was that we didn't showboat. We wanted more goals but we did it in the right way."

Saturday's win has seen Bournemouth move up to fourth place in the Championship table.