Bournemouth have flown under radar again as Eddie Howe continues to impress

While Alan Pardew and West Bromwich Albion were surely taking another decisive stride towards relegation and ultimately separation, another increasing inevitability slipped almost under the radar at Dean Court on Saturday.

Bournemouth are effectively safe and, for a fourth straight season, the club with the lowest attendance in the Premier League will be taking their place next August in Europe’s richest league. They are even on course for a second successive top-half finish.

Their 21-year-old midfielder Lewis Cook is also with the England squad, plans are in place for both a new stadium and training ground but, in understanding the continuation of their almost unnoticed progress, there was an especially salient fact on Saturday.

Having fallen behind 1-0 following Jay Rodriguez’s goal, Bournemouth recovered to win 2-1 and so became the leading Premier League points scorer this season from a losing position. They have now accumulated 16 points from matches in which they were behind.

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West Brom have the opposite record in losing most points from a winning position and, as well as issues of mentality and fitness, perhaps the central explanation is the clarity with which Howe directs his team in their refusal to compromise on playing style regardless of the score or even their own Premier League position.

“We appreciate every day being in the Premier League - never take it for granted or think we have a divine right to be here,” said Howe.

“We have to earn that right every single day. They’re a group of players who never know when they are beaten and, when you have those characteristics, you never quit.”

Bournemouth went direct on Saturday night to Heathrow for a five-day training camp in Dubai and you can be fairly confident that the sort of stories that emerged after West Brom’s own similar break to Barcelona last month will not be repeated.

Every game must now feel like an ordeal for manager Alan Pardew but his team did actually perform positively for most of the game and probably deserved at least a point. A combination of a goalkeeping mistake by Ben Foster and a rash Craig Dawson challenge on Joshua King allowed Jordon Ibe and then Junior Stanislas to pounce.

Pardew looked genuinely crestfallen but, in stressing that there was no release clause this summer in his contract, it does seem that his own tenure still has a largely futile few months to run. Pardew has overseen only one Premier League win since his appointment in late November and his team are now 10 points adrift of safety with only seven matches to play.

“After the effort they put in, it was heartbreaking for us all,” said Pardew. “We have had another really hurtful blow.”