AFC Bournemouth are back from a two-week break tomorrow (Saturday) as they travel to Brighton in a bid to climb out of the relegation zone.
A draw against Nottingham Forest on 21st January saw the Cherries slip into the bottom three, but the close nature of the table means a win this weekend could take them as high as 14th. Brighton meanwhile can go just two points behind Tottenham, with a game in hand, as they continue their bid for European football next season.
A poor run of form has seen Bournemouth pick up just one point from their last five games and they are without a win since 12th November, but Gary O’Neil will be hoping his new January signings will help his team climb up the table as we head into the latter half of the season.
Gary O’Neil spoke to the press, including Nerve Sport, on Friday afternoon where he detailed how he wants his new signings to fit into the squad, gave an injury update and more.
Recently, Bournemouth have been going through somewhat of an injury crisis. Thankfully O’Neil was able to give some positive news about some of the absent players, confirming that Lewis Cook, Dom Solanke, Marcus Tavernier and Phillip Billing would all be in consideration for tomorrow’s squad. It wasn’t all positive, however, as O’Neil added: “I can tell you that David Brook’s won’t be available, neither will junior Stanislas or Ryan Fredericks.
A previously depleted squad has been boosted by a busy January transfer window for AFC Bournemouth. O’Neil emphasised his excitement to have new players involved but accepts it will take them time to adjust to life in the Premier League: “None of them aside from Daren Randolph have played in the Premier League, so there’s adaptation needed.
“We’ve been working on it since the moment they arrived and we’re looking at getting them all up to speed.”
Some had suggested that despite a strong window, Bournemouth may still find themselves short of numbers in the midfield area, but the manager was quick to say he disagreed with this:
“I think we have options of players that can play there, we are slightly light on players who it’s their number one position but plenty that can play there. We did the business that we felt we could do and now we need to get the injured lads back as that will be a big boost.”
O’Neil was keeping his cards close to his chest when asked if any of his new signings would feature against Brighton but said some will play a “significant part”.
Brighton vs Bournemouth kicks off at 3 pm on Saturday 4th February.