Bournemouth Boss Eddie Howe Questions Side's 'Mentality' After 4-1 Loss to Huddersfield Town

Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe has claimed his side were lacking the right mentality to perform well, after they struggled to a 4-1 loss away to relegation candidates Huddersfield Town in the Premier League.

Speaking in the wake of the heavy defeat, via BBC Sport, the Cherries' boss didn't pull any punches in his criticism of his side, contending that their mentality in the game proved costly. Howe said:

"Mentally we weren't were we needed to be. That showed in the individual performances that weren't as good as they had been. That meant that collectively we were below-part. Mentally we weren't in the right place. There's positives to fall back on, but the reality is that we lost, and that will live with us until the next one."

"We're very disappointed because we've been on the back of such a good run, and during that run we've played very well. Today it wasn't there. Credit to Huddersfield, they were better than us. They put us under pressure and we didn't deal with it very well. I think we have to respond in the right way. If we don't this league can become very difficult very quickly. "

We didn't play very well today, the onus is on ourselves, and we didn't function well as a team. In the first half we conceded a poor goal and then scored a great goal ourselves, it was a really well-worked move. That was the real highlight of the day thought, because after that we didn't manage to re-find those passing movements and sequences that we normally want to. So that's the big disappointment."

Bournemouth's loss saw their impressive run of form come to an abrupt end, but their recent prolific form means they are still 10th in the table despite the disappointing defeat. Howe's side went the previous eight matches unbeaten; a run that included wins over the likes of Arsenal and the league champions Chelsea.

The south coast side will be looking to bounce straight back from their loss to the Terriers, and face off against Newcastle United next weekend. Rafa Benítez's side will be buoyed by their 1-0 victory over Manchester United, and could prove stiff opposition for the Cherries in what is set to be a tightly-fought contest at the Vitality Stadium.