Bournemouth have no margin for error at Spurs says Howe
(Reuters) - Bournemouth cannot afford to make any mistakes when they face one of their toughest tests of the Premier League season at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, manager Eddie Howe has said.
Bournemouth were thrashed 3-0 at White Hart Lane last season and their English manager believes that chastening experience will drive them to deliver a better performance this weekend.
"Last year, probably with Manchester City, they (Spurs) were our toughest opponents and the game (on Saturday) will be one of our toughest this year," Howe said in British media on Thursday. "If we make any mistakes at Tottenham they'll punish us.
"We didn't play well there last year. Hopefully that experience can inspire us."
Earlier this week, British media reported that Everton were looking to sign Bournemouth defender Steve Cook, a key figure in Howe's squad having started every league game this season.
But Howe said he intended to keep the 25-year-old and would look to add quality players to the squad in the transfer market.
"Steve is a massive part of our future," he added. "If you have players consistently performing well then they will attract attention from other clubs.
"But our focus is on keeping the squad together, adding quality to the squad and trying to build the club."
Second-placed Tottenham, who have won their last six league games, can close the gap on leaders Chelsea to a provisional four points with a win, while 15th-placed Bournemouth will be chasing their first victory in four games.
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)