Eddie Howe has called on Bournemouth to become more consistent after suggesting his players have only “shown flashes of what we can do”. The Cherries were denied a winning start to the new season when promoted Sheffield United snatched a late draw through Billy Sharp at the Vitality Stadium on August 10.
However, a 2-1 win at Aston Villa the following weekend left them with four points from their opening two games.
But consecutive 3-1 defeats against Manchester City at home and at Leicester before the international break has put a dampener on things.
Bournemouth have slipped down to 15th in the embryonic Premier League table and will look to get back to winning ways when they host Everton in Sunday’s televised clash.
When asked for his thoughts on his team’s start, Howe said: “For me the start of the season has been that we’ve shown flashes of what we can do. The challenge is to find our true level and hit that consistently.”
The 41-year-old accepts that a game against Everton will be tough, as he describes them as “a high level team”, while he expects it to be entertaining.
The two sides played out a 2-2 draw when they met in the same fixture in August 2018, while there was also a memorable 3-3 draw at the same venue back in November 2015 when there were two goals scored in stoppage time.
Meanwhile, Howe said he is still “on the fence” with regards to Video Assistant Referee (VAR) after it was confirmed there have been four mistakes in the Premier League already this season.
Two of those errors were in games involving the Cherries – against Leicester and Manchester City – but Howe is willing to give it the benefit of the doubt for now.
He added: “I’ve had quite a lot on so VAR hasn’t been on my agenda! But it’s a positive thing that mistakes have been admitted; there will be things that need to be ironed out.”
