Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has admitted that his side are involved in a relegation battle this season.

The Cherries sat in the top half of the Premier League table at the turn of the year, but a run of four defeats and two draws from their last six outings has seen them slip to 14th, just six points clear of the relegation zone.

Bournemouth have also conceded 18 goals in those six games - an average of three per match - and Howe acknowledged that their form is not good enough.

"The spell we have been on, you can't hide from. It's not been good, conceding a lot of goals. But I think it has been slightly unusual the way that has happened, so I don't think there is anything structurally wrong with us," he told reporters.

"We haven't changed anything from early season, we have just suffered in certain moments. It is up to us to bounce back from that. I have said a few times, despite the fact our league position was healthy a few weeks ago, we are in a relegation battle. We are not hiding from that.

"We need points, we need wins, we need them quickly. Although people have never included ourselves in that bracket, we have always felt we were in a race to reach that 40-point mark."

Bournemouth will renew their search for a first league win of 2017 when they take on West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns on Saturday.