Three things we learned: Head coach ahead of Leeds visit

Here are three things which we learned from the head coach…

1. Job still not done

Three points against Southampton on Thursday night saw the team rise to 14^th in the Premier League table, seven points above the drop zone.

While just five top-flight fixtures remain before the curtain comes down on the 2022/23 term, O’Neil was keen to reiterate his and his team’s focus.

He explained to the press: “I felt that everyone in the world felt more comfortable after Tottenham, and you see what can happen.

“You lose a game 4-0 to West Ham and Nottingham Forest beat Brighton, then all of a sudden, it’s, ‘lose at Southampton and we’re right back in it.’

“Things can change very quickly, we’ve been on a good run so other teams definitely can as well.

“I still think 36 points can still be relegated, so there’s a real clear focus from me, last night is done.

“We enjoyed that we managed to execute a game plan against a team that could have been dangerous on the evening, and it’s fantastic that the fans got to enjoy another away victory, but nothing is done yet. We need three points on Sunday.”

2. A lot of work to be done between now and Sunday

One big fixture follows another for the Cherries as Leeds are in town just three days on from the trip up the south coast.

In that short space of time, the former midfielder spelt out how much work there was to achieve.

“The boys are going to be extremely tired this morning, they’re going for a recovery session as we speak,” he said.

“There needs to be a lot of work done in a short space of time to make sure that we turn up right from the start against Leeds.

“We don’t have time to ease ourselves into this one, they play in an intense way and they’ll have seen our start against West Ham, I’m sure.

“They’ll be keen to come and impose themselves in front of our crowd and make it an awkward afternoon for us, so there’s a real focus from me on trying to get the boys ready to start off all guns blazing at 2pm on Sunday.”

3. Rothwell revolution a result of hard work

One of the team’s real bright sparks in recent weeks and months has been the form of midfielder Joe Rothwell.

Having endured a slow start to life at Vitality Stadium, the Englishman has been a mainstay in the side since the turn of the year and O’Neil shed some light on the reasoning.

He said: “He’s an interesting one, Joe. He came from Blackburn and was very attack minded, never had too many defensive responsibilities at Blackburn.

“We worked hard around Joe changing his habits and how he sees day-to-day training; it took a while to get him to where he is at this moment.

“Full credit to him, we haven’t done anything spectacular with him, we’ve just tried to point him in the right direction, and he’s grabbed his moment and opportunity.

“He works his socks off every single day, and he’s shown huge improvement. He was always a fantastic footballer but now he stays connected to the game much more.

“You saw last night against a very talented Southampton midfielder in Lavia that he can hold his own against some of the top midfielders in the Premier League.”