Eddie Howe has praised Nick Pope’s brilliance, Dan Burn’s display at left-back and our defensive resilience after earning a “valuable point” at Brighton on Saturday afternoon.
The boss believes we were “competitive” in the first half and showed a threat on the counter, but admits it took “great team spirit and unity” – along with some last-ditch defending – to come away with a point after the hosts dominated in the second 45.
He’s “very pleased” with the result in the circumstances, giving us an unbeaten start to the season after two games, but felt Callum Wilson’s early goal was harshly disallowed and chalked off too quickly.
On transfers, Howe insisted we are still looking and fully aware of what we need to add quality in the final third after a lacklustre display in attack at The Amex.
Here’s what the manager had to say on all of the above, starting with his response to the BBC when asked about today’s result and performance.
Howe on 0-0 draw at Brighton:
“First half we were good on the counter and competitive. Second half they took control of the game and we hung in there and defended well.
“We showed great team spirit and unity to stay in that game and get a valuable point.
“You are always disappointed not to win but very pleased with a point in the end, especially in the second half. I thought it was a difficult second half for us.”
Howe on potential incomings:
“As I’ve said many times, we’re looking.
“We are aware that there are certain parts of the squad that we’d love to strengthen and give us more options. But that’s no reflection of anybody we currently have in our squad because I think we’ve shown that we love everybody within the group.
“There’s a very good feeling internally, within the dynamic of the team, so we desperately don’t want to harm that either.”
Howe on Nick Pope:
“Very pleased. It was a totally different afternoon for him this week compared to last week, where we were looking at distribution and commanding his box.
“Today it was about saves and he made a number of great saves for us – and that’s the quality of Nick Pope.”
Howe on Wilson’s disallowed goal:
“I’d need to see it again. My initial reaction was I thought it was harsh and given too quickly. The decision could have been let go to see what VAR said but it wasn’t to be.”
Howe on Dan Burn’s display at left-back:
“He hadn’t played left-back for a long time, but I thought he did very well . . . overall very pleased with his performance and his attitude to a different position.”
