Bournemouth are not overawed by the prospect of hosting defending champions Chelsea on Saturday because they have grown used to locking horns with Premier League’s elite, defender Charlie Daniels said.
With seven points from nine games this season, Eddie Howe’s team are second-bottom in the table, their worst return at this stage over their three top-flight campaigns.
Bournemouth beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge two years ago and Daniels believes taking points against top teams will be key to their chances of top-flight survival.
”As a team, we are better prepared. The more we play against the big clubs, the better we are getting,“ Daniels told the Daily Echo. ”We are getting more accustomed to it.
”We go into every game feeling we can get a result and that is the way we have to go about our business. If you are scared of teams and take a step back, you will get beaten anyway.
“If we can start getting more points against the big sides, that will be important for us and we will feel we are going in the right direction.”
Bournemouth claimed their first points on the road this season with a 2-1 win at Stoke last weekend and Daniels backs his team mates to deliver another spirited performance against Antonio Conte’s Chelsea.
”Hopefully, Stoke was the turning point,“ he added. ”We needed to pick up points and now we are a lot better off because if we had lost we could have been a few points adrift.
“You have to be a man, get on with it and roll your socks up. We have beaten Chelsea before and that was down to hard work and graft.”