Bournemouth face Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City within their next five league fixtures
Friday 1 February 2019 10:39, UK
Eddie Howe says Bournemouth’s emphatic victory against Chelsea will act as a "turning point" when competing against the top six in the Premier League.
Bournemouth beat Maurizio Sarri's Champions League-chasing side 4-0 at the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday for their second consecutive league win as they moved up to the 10th in the table.
Howe, whose side had lost all their previous league matches against the top six this season, will aim to back up the win when they visit Cardiff on Saturday before they face Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City within their next five games.
"Tough games on the horizon but I think they always are in the Premier League," Howe said. "I never see an easy schedule. The win against Chelsea will hopefully launch us into a new feeling that we can beat and compete against the top six.
"I think we have done that in terms of performances, the results haven't matched that. Hopefully the Chelsea game will be a turning point where the results start to match how we have played against them.
"But first and foremost it is Cardiff and that has to be the only thought in our heads and trying to win."
Cardiff are without a win from their last five matches in all competitions but Howe expects a stern test against Neil Warnock's team, who have picked up 14 points at home this term.
"It's a huge challenge. Our away form hasn't been good. That is something we want to address and change," he added.
"We respect Cardiff a lot. Their journey to the Premier League has been based on ability, hard work, togetherness - all the things we had here.
"Watching them play this year they have done very well, got some great results so we know how tough it is going to be.
"Their home record is very strong as well so we need to be prepared for a very tough game."
Howe believes the January additions of Nathaniel Clyne, Dominic Solanke and Chris Mepham have provided a boost to the squad and expects them all to have an influence during the remainder of the campaign.
The club's victory against Chelsea saw them move two points behind seventh place Wolves but Howe is not thinking about finishing the campaign as the best of the rest.
He said: "We don't tend to look at it like that. We just want to be the best version of us. The frustration for us around the Christmas period was that we went below those levels.
"The last two games have shown us what we are capable of being. It is finding that consistency for us.
"A game like this coming up tomorrow [Saturday] will be a true test of that consistency. We need to find those levels that we showed on Wednesday again, again and again.
"If we can do that with the ability we have then we can be where we want to be."
