Eddie Howe: 'It was difficult to watch Manchester City defeat again'

Eddie Howe has revealed that it was difficult to watch back the 5-1 defeat Bournemouth endured at the hands of Manchester City last weekend, but has insisted that his side is ready to bounce back.

Raheem Sterling bagged himself a first-half hat-trick against the Cherries, and Howe is adamant that his side must improve when they face Tottenham Hotspur at home this weekend.

"We've regrouped, we've evaluated and we've reflected. It was a difficult one to watch back for ourselves, for everybody, because we didn't feel we did ourselves justice, especially with the goals we conceded." Howe told Sky Sports News.

"But I think it's a healthy situation, to review, and make sure you come out with positive outcomes from those reviews and move forward very quickly. We can focus on the next challenge ahead.

"Certainly it's not a time for us to dwell on any negatives or get too downbeat. It was always going to be a tough assignment for us. I think the big thing coming out for us was to make sure we tighten up, the goals we conceded were disappointing."

Mauricio Pochettino's side go into the fixture having lost just once in 11 games, while Bournemouth have won just once in their last six.