Eddie Howe has confessed that Bournemouth were far from their best as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat at home to Watford on Saturday afternoon.

The Cherries remain winless in the Premier League after conceding two goals in the final quarter of the match at the Vitality Stadium.

Howe, who saw his side finish in their highest-ever league position last season, cut a frustrated figure at full time following another underwhelming display from the hosts.

"It was below our normal standards, the whole game really. We were off where we need to be," he told reporters. "I felt it was a good chance for us today to win if we played well but we didn't and we turned the ball over far too easily today.

"That was probably our Achilles heel. Usually we are very good with the ball, but today we were short and it led to numerous counter-attacking opportunities for Watford in situations that we would never normally give the ball away.

"It's incredibly frustrating not just for me, but for the players as well. They feel exactly the same as I do. We know we're better than that. That's not a true representation of our ability so lots of work to do.

"I thought our tempo was low. We wanted a quick game, we felt that's the best way for us to play. We're better when we're quicker but it was slow again and it was too methodical and we made it easy for Watford to defend."

Bournemouth, now 17th in the league table, return to action in midweek with a second round EFL Cup tie against Birmingham City.