With the season drawing to a close and the Cherries recording their highest ever points tally in the second tier, coupled with at least matching their highest ever finish, the focus will soon be switching to building for next season even though a crack at this seasons play-offs isn't going to happen.
Manager Eddie Howe is quoted in the Bournemouth Evening Echo as saying: "We knew before the game it was over for us in terms of the top six but it was important we didn’t let that affect us and were motivated to try to win in front of a sell-out crowd. I felt we put on a really good show in our last home game. I don’t think there was a feeling of huge disappointment because it wasn’t as if we had been in the top six and had dropped out, which sometimes can be the case. Hopefully, we have built momentum in the second half of the season and can take that into the early stages of next season. We don’t want to be complacent. We want to look back and think of it as a good job this season and want to improve next season. I think we are surprised by how well we have done but not surprised at some of the performances. The speed with which we have improved is probably the biggest thing, especially during the second half of the season. There have been some outstanding performances, we have really dominated some good teams and that is probably the only surprise. Some of the football we have played in the recent home games has been a huge highlight for me. The players have been excellent and deserve full credit for putting that into action. Going into the season, people didn’t expect a lot from us and I think people are now talking about us so that is testament to the players and what they have done".