Eddie shows Howe it should be done

JOSH McQuoid is the man of the moment for resurgent Bournemouth.

The striker has scored four goals in six games, becoming a hit once again under the stewardship of returning manager Eddie Howe.

Surprisingly, the 22-year-old was not included in the Northern Ireland squad for the home game against Azerbaijan this week, but Howe reckons if he keeps going it will only be a matter of time.

"It is up to Josh to keep doing the business," Howe said. "Regardless of whether Josh plays up front or out wide, he just needs to perform well on a consistent basis and score more goals."

The Cherries have managed to find the net plentifully since the return to his roots of prodigal son Howe a month ago.

The statistics alone tell the story of the impact he has made after coming back to the Goldsands Stadium from Burnley.

On September 29, Cherries chairman Eddie Mitchell fronted up to an angry set of fans after a 2-1 home loss to Walsall.

At that stage, the big spenders had won one of nine npower League One matches, with only one point from 15 home games.

Two weeks later, the arrival of Howe saw an amazing turnaround in form which has lasted up to the present day.

Bournemouth's 1-0 win at Doncaster on Saturday was a sixth in the last seven matches, an unbeaten run which has brought with it 19 goals in the process. Athletic visit the Cherries on Saturday at arguably the worst possible time.

It is a sign of the options available to Howe that £800,000 striker Matt Tubbs is only worth a place on the bench at the moment, alongside Wes Thomas, who hit 10 goals in 20 matches for the club after arriving from Crawley last term.