Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil is confident the squad’s depth can handle their late season relegation battle.
The Cherries meet West Ham today well placed above the dropzone.
O’Neil told the Daily Echo: “I think that’s the way the game is now.
“There’s a 25-man squad and you need your 25-man squad to be full of people that are all capable of stepping in.
“So of course, there are going to be certain lads that spend spells without playing as much as they’d like.
“It’s the way the game is. So, they’ve managed to stay ready.
“I think obviously Meps (Chris Mepham) was a good example the other day, where he had a couple of games outside of the squad.
“Kept himself ready to come in and put in two big performances.
“It’s important that everyone understands that you’re always involved regardless of whether you’re selected one week or not.
“Things can change very quickly and you need to keep yourself in a place that you’re ready to affect the games that you’re selected.
“I think the group are very good at that. I think we have a lot of leaders in the group who not only lead with voice but example.
“Adam Smith, of course, is one – he works his socks off every day. No matter what the result is, no matter how he’s feeling, no matter what we’re doing, he’ll always give everything.
“I spoke about it a lot already, but they’re a group that they don’t take too much managing.
“They’re very good around their approach to our work and approach to each game and how we respond to negatives and positives.
“So, of course we need to make sure we keep that up because we’ve still got six weeks to go.”
