Bournemouth boss Scott Parker admits they were hit by Premier League reality at Liverpool on Saturday.
The Cherries were steamrolled 9-0 by Liverpool in a humiliating performance.
Parker said, “We’re all shell-shocked. It’s a really disappointing scoreline. I understand the challenges we face. There’s no denying we’re underequipped at this level and in this arena.
“There’s been the fear of that throughout the season in terms of where are as a group and squad. There’s been that fear because the levels have gone up drastically. It’s a very young, inexperienced group. Some player are experiencing the Premier League for the first time. I’m speaking to you 10 minutes after the game. It’s a pretty humbling experience. Pretty painful.
“I’m very alarmed. This is where we are in terms of players on the pitch and the squad depth we have. I was alarmed the goals were going in very easy and I half understood. We’re trying our hardest here. I feel sorry for this group. We need some help [new signings]. Easy goals, there’s loads to work on but we need a little bit of help.
“We need time to do the work on the training field. The test of time will come whether players can adapt to that. My job is to take the psychological element out of this. There is a big psychological element. Hopefully in the next few days we can get some help in and rebuild. We need help. You can see in our squad, boys making their debuts in certain areas.
“We need to make a decision as a football club what we want to do this year – do we want to be competitive? We’re not competitive right now.
“Its very difficult. The touchline is a lonely place. I felt for every single one of the players.
“These stories get told down the road. The adversity one faces. This one will define us, me. Hopefully we bounce back and react in the right way and there’ll be a story behind it if we dust ourselves down.”
