AFC Bournemouth
From the euphoria of Tottenham Hotspur to the disappointment of West Ham United, Jack Stephens has managed to keep a cool head.
AFC Bournemouth’s dramatic 3-2 win against Spurs quickly turned to agony following a chastening 4-0 defeat by the Hammers.
And while the battle for Premier League safety may at times be an emotional roller coaster, Stephens insists remaining level-headed is key.
The defender, on loan from Southampton, has played a pivotal role in an impressive recent run which has seen the Cherries edge four points clear of the drop zone.
He made his full debut in a 3-0 win against Everton ahead of the World Cup break before helping the Cherries keep clean sheets in wins over Wolves, Liverpool and Leicester.
Stephens also started as Gary O’Neil’s team beat Fulham and Tottenham but is ineligible to face his parent club when the Cherries lock horns with the Saints at St Mary’s on Thursday.
Discussing the recent form and the gamut of emotions, Stephens told afcb.co.uk: “You can’t get too high when it’s going well and you can’t get too low when it’s going poorly.
“Winning against Tottenham was incredible. It was an amazing day for the team, the supporters, the staff and everybody connected with the club.
“We were brought back down to earth with an almighty bang by West Ham. That’s the Premier League. If you’re not at it, you will get punished.
“Credit to West Ham because they came and did a job on us. It was a difficult one to take because we weren’t at it.
“Physically, we didn’t compete with them which was probably the most disappointing thing.
“When you lose a game of football, you can handle it when a team outplays you or picks you apart but when you don’t compete physically that’s tough to take.
“Straight after a game, it hurts badly. Maybe after a couple of days, we can look at it and still say we’re on a very good run.
“It was disappointing to get beaten by West Ham but you have to try to keep things in perspective. We mustn’t lose sight of the end goal which is trying to stay in the division.
“At the moment, it’s very disappointing and we need to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Torpoint-born Stephens joined Southampton from local club Plymouth Argyle 12 years ago and has made 122 appearances in the Premier League for the Hampshire outfit.
He came off the bench in their first two games against Tottenham and Leeds in August before joining the Cherries on a season-long loan in the summer transfer window.
Stephens says he will be rooting for a Cherries victory at St Mary’s but knows the Saints will provide formidable opposition, particularly after their showing against Arsenal on Friday when they drew 3-3 with the leaders.
He added: “It will be a strange one for me and I haven’t been back there since I left in the summer.
“For me, the focus is on Bournemouth. I will be as supportive as I can to the boys as we try to get a positive result for the club.
“It’s going to be another tough game for us. It was a really spirited effort from them against Arsenal, they picked up a good point and it could have been all three.
“It’s the Premier League and every team is fighting for something. We will need to be bang at it and we need a reaction after West Ham.”
