AFC Bournemouth
Adam Smith believes a mutual respect between Gary O’Neil and his players has been a key factor in AFC Bournemouth all but securing their Premier League status.
A convincing 4-1 win over Leeds on Sunday saw the Cherries establish a ten-point cushion on the bottom three, a gap which was trimmed to nine following Leicester’s draw with Everton on Monday.
Smith, the club’s record appearance-maker in the top flight, played 143 games during the Cherries’ five-year stay in the Premier League between 2015 and 2020.
The versatile defender has featured in all but one league game this season and heaped praise on head coach O’Neil for the job he has done since taking the reins.
Asked how far the team could go under O’Neil, Smith replied: “As far as we want really.
“He was thrown in at the deep end and that’s not easy.
“He came in as interim manager, in his first job, after the 9-0 defeat against Liverpool and got a positive result against Wolves, the first of a six-game unbeaten run.
“All the lads have bought into his ideas. We’ve shown him respect and he’s shown it back. I definitely feel we’ve come a long way under him.
“He’s improved the way we play tactically and, physically, we’re in a good place.
“He settled in the new signings and he rotates the team which keeps the lads on their toes.
“Everyone buys into it and I think that’s credit to him. We can definitely kick on next season and improve even more.
“We know there’s still a lot to improve on but, credit to the gaffer, from where we were when he took over to where we are now, he’s done an amazing job.”
Despite being at the foot of the table ahead of beating Liverpool in March, five wins in seven games in April propelled the Cherries to 13th in the table.
Smith added: “Everyone writes us off every season, especially this season. I’ve had it for six years in the Premier League so I’m used to it.
“What we’ve been through as a team and as a club, it’s quite amazing we’re already all but safe and it’s credit to the lads, all the staff and the gaffer.
“We have belief in our ability, we’re a fit team and we made some good signings in January.
“We’ve had some difficult games but there’s a great deal of character in the squad.
“We’ve had some bad results but we’ve always picked ourselves up very quickly and moved on to the next game.
“A big thing is how you deal with pressure. Every time we had to win a game, we did. You look at Leicester, Southampton and other teams we beat, they were six-pointers and those are the ones you have to win.
“You develop unity more when you get bad results. Leeds away, Spurs at home, Arsenal away – that’s what makes you stronger, not the wins. It’s about learning from those games.”
