Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe has claimed that his team have 'dropped off mentally' in recent months.

The Cherries have only won one of their last 10 Premier League matches, which has left them just six points clear of the bottom three.

Centre-back Nathan Ake claimed earlier this week that there was no problem with the "mentality" of the players, but Howe has identified that, rather than a technical or tactical issue, as the reason for the team's slump.

"It's very difficult at this level if you're one or two per cent off mentally and the feeling of being safe everyone giving you that every day," Howe told reporters. "We've just come off mentally, not technically not tactically.

"The biggest challenge now is to find that again so I'm urging my players to forget everything that's happened and to go out and play to their maximum levels."

Bournemouth will welcome Swansea City to the Vitality Stadium on Saturday afternoon.