Eddie Howe Insists There's 'More Work to Do' for Bournemouth Following 2-2 Draw With Newcastle

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has insisted there is 'more work to do' for his side between now and the end of the season following their 2-2 draw with Newcastle United.

The Cherries looked to have secured only their second win in their last seven games, with a second-half brace from Josh King putting them ahead after Salomon Rondon netted a fine first-half free-kick for the visitors, but Matt Ritchie's volley in added time denied his former club the win at the death. 

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With Bournemouth now set for an extended period off, due to the international break, Howe believes it's come at a good time for his side, as they look to welcome back a number of players for what's left of the season.

Speaking post-match, as quoted by Sky Sports, he said: "We've still got more work to do. We're still looking above us as well at the same time trying to catch the teams above us.

"It's a good time for us, a two week break to get some bodies back. We need that. We've got some quality players that are not available at the moment and our squad will look a lot stronger when they return."

The draw sees Bournemouth move up one place to 11th in the Premier League with 38 points, which should be enough to guarantee their place in England's top-flight fora fifth consecutive season. 

While Howe had to deal with added sting that Newcastle's late equaliser came via former Bournemouth winger Ritchie, who spent over three seasons at the Vitality Stadium between 2013-2016, he admitted his side could've done better to prevent both goals they conceded.

He added: "Matt has got unbelievable quality with that left foot. We've seen him score many spectacular goals for us down the years and that is probably the one person you don't want the ball to fall to in that moment in the game.

"He put it away well from our perspective. We'll analyse the goals and know that we could have done better with both of them today."