Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe says Chris Mepham reacted with great maturity to be substituted at the weekend.
The Wales defender was brought off in the first half with the Cherries level at 1-1 against south-coast rivals Southampton. Ryan Fraser replaced him as Howe sought to change the shape of his side.
Bournemouth could only go on to draw the game 3-3 and had to rely on a late goal from Callum Wilson to rescue a point.
Howe says he was very happy with the attitude Mepham showed coming off despite his obvious disappointment. Howe told the Daily Echo: “It wasn’t anything against Chris, it was for the good of the team. “I needed to change things. Sometimes you can leave things and the game may have gone.
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“I felt I needed to act, it’s not something I’d necessarily want to do but I think sometimes you have to be prepared to make that decision, if it’s for the benefit of everybody. “He will naturally be disappointed. I’d expect him to be but you have always got to think of how people will observe your reaction. “A lot of people would look and see how he did react – he reacted with great professionalism, which shows great respect for his team-mates.”
