Where has it all gone wrong for Bournemouth?

Bournemouth were the bookies favourites to earn promotion and return to the Premier League at the first time of asking and began the season superbly, but since December have lacked consistency and are now paying the price.

With ten games remaining, Jonathan Woodgate’s side sit seventh in the table, five points adrift of the top six following a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Barnsley this weekend, to leave their playoff aspirations hanging by a thread.

Undoubtedly, the Cherries have the strongest squad in the division but both Jason Tindall and Woodgate have found it hard to get the best out of a talented group of players, with the team continuing to fail in finding any sort of consistency.

After being relegated from the Premier League on the final day of last season, the Cherries lost Nathan Ake, Aaron Ramsdale, Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser but kept a key part of their squad from the top flight, with only Rodrigo Riquelme and Cameron Carter-Vickers being brought in – both on loan.

Despite the lack of transfer incomings to the club last summer, they began the season superbly going unbeaten in the opening nine games of the season, which saw them right in the mix at the top of the table.

However, the first league loss of the season came at the start of November against Sheffield Wednesday. Although the side responded brilliantly, collecting ten points out of 12 in the rest of the month which saw them go into a busy December in the top two.

The final month of the year started on the wrong foot with a 3-2 defeat against Preston North End but on the whole it was a productive spell of results, collecting 11 points from seven games – including a thumping 5-0 victory over Huddersfield Town in front of a limited amount of supporters.

January came and it started well with a 1-0 win over Stoke, but ever since this point, Bournemouth have struggled to find a run of consistent results.

Three league defeats out of four were played out in the rest of January which left the side three points clear of seventh placed Middlesbrough, and ultimately caused real concern they might not even remain in the top six.

A defeat to lowly Sheffield Wednesday saw the Owls do a double over the Cherries and the result cost Tindall his job as Woodgate was put in temporary charge of the team and guided them to a much needed win over Birmingham City.

Despite the change of manager, the inconsistencies remained, collecting just seven points from the final five games of February which saw them end the month in sixth, but by just one point with Barnsley and Cardiff hot on their heals.

March started strongly with a late 2-1 win over Bristol City but it has since faltered, drawing with Preston at Deepdale before losing to playoff rivals Barnsley, who put a five-point buffer between themselves and the Cherries with just ten games remaining in the campaign.

Ultimately, the side have really struggled to back up positive results since the turn of the year and are now paying the ultimate price for it with the likes of the Tykes coming into a great run of form, taking advantage of any ground which the South Coast club give up.

Just when you think they might have found a bit of form, after consecutive wins over Watford and Bristol City, they dropped five points in the next two outings which underlines how tricky it is going to be for Woodgate to guide his side into the top six in the final ten games.

Woodgate questioned his side’s mentality in his post-match press conference after they slipped to a 3-2 defeat, despite being 2-1 to the good at the break.

“You don’t expect that second-half performance from the first half. That’s like two different teams – the contrast is huge.”

“It’s a chalk and cheese performance. Very good first half – not good second half.”

“I just don’t understand the mentality in the first half and second half.”

“I thought we were very good first half and played some really good football – the second half we didn’t.”

“The game is not for 45 minutes – it’s for 90 and you’ve got to keep on going until the end.”

Despite there only being five points between Barnsley and Bournemouth in the table, the difference in confidence between the two sides is stark and it doesn’t get any easier with Swansea City set to visit the Vitality Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Woodgate’s side have also got to come up against runaway leaders Norwich City and Brentford in the run in which just underlines how tough it is going to be to overturn the deficit they now face between themselves and the top six.

A run of just four league wins in 14 games since the win at Stoke in the first league outing of the year has ultimately cost the Cherries who, depending on the result against Swansea in midweek may see the game against Southampton in the FA Cup as a real chance to save their season which is holding on by a thread.

Swansea are in great form of their own, having won three of their last four and are right in the mix for automatic promotion, so it will be another tough assignment for Woodgate’s men but it’s simply one they have to win if they are to have any chance of finishing in the top six come the final day.

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