Francis targets Cherries win streak

Simon Francis admits that victory over Swansea this weekend is absolutely vital to Bournemouth’s hopes for the season as they target back-to-back wins for the first time this campaign.

The Cherries eased their relegation fears with a win over West Ham this weekend and are now within striking distance of the top half of the table, sitting three points behind tenth-placed Southampton, while they are six clear of the bottom three.

For Francis the win over the Hammers marked his return to the team after a start to 2017 where he has been absent through both suspension and injury.

The skipper relished his return to the side, and insists the aim now for the club is to finish in the top half rather than worry about the possibility of getting dragged into a relegation battle.

Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images

He said: “We need those back-to-back wins. They can take you from looking behind you, to looking ahead of you.

“We’ve not been looking behind us but you can’t help notice those teams have been picking up points.

“While a lot of people outside the club have been saying we are in a relegation battle we are trying stay confident, look ahead of us and see who we can catch.”