Bournemouth survival hopes were boosted by Spurs performance - but have they left it too late?

For the first time since the restart, Bournemouth have something to build on. It may not have been a victory against Tottenham Hotspur, but it was at least a performance of substance and character. The fight was there, which is a start. Now the points must follow.

Relegation battles can come down to the finer margins at this level and it was tempting, after watching Bournemouth’s spirited draw against Tottenham on Thursday night to wonder if they might look back at Harry Wilson’s late opportunity, saved by visiting goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, as one of the key moments of their season.

Had Wilson struck his shot with just a little more power, or aimed it just a little further towards the corner, Bournemouth might have gone into this weekend with genuine belief, rather than hope, that they might stay up. As it is, they host Leicester City on Sunday knowing that the road ahead remains steep.

There is also not long to run, which is perhaps the major concern on the south coast. They have improved, at last, but is it too little and is it too late? “We know time is running out,” said midfielder Dan Gosling. “Since the lockdown we have not quite been at our sharpest but we have to look forward now.”

Premier League 2019/20 latest standings (bottom five)

Ahead of Saturday’s fixtures, the Bournemouth players and coaching staff were ranking the visit of Leicester as a must-win game. The pressure is intense, and Gosling said he had no intention of watching Saturday’s matches on television. He would rather take his kids to the park, he said, and switch off from the stresses and strains of the relegation battle for a while at least.

If they do go down, it will almost certainly be Bournemouth’s inability to switch back on after lockdown that is cited as the main cause. The Ryan Fraser incident, in which the Scotland winger chose against signing a contract extension, cannot have helped but it also cannot totally explain Bournemout’s limp performances.

From the 12th minute of their first match back, when Crystal Palace’s Luka Milivojevic curled in a gorgeous free-kick from the edge of the Bournemouth box, Eddie Howe’s side were too flat and too meek. The four consecutive defeats, including that horrendous 4-1 loss at home to Newcastle United, provided little to suggest they could stay up.

That all changed against Tottenham, when they secured their first clean sheet in the league since mid-December. It was the first time in their Premier League history that they have prevented an opponent from having a single shot on target.

“We have to feed off every positive fibre of that performance,” said Howe. “The heart and endeavour we showed, and the quality we showed at times as well. That will give our players a huge lift, no doubt.

"We know that a good performance in itself, even if it is an upturn on recent weeks, is not going to be enough. We need results. Yes, we want another good performance but we want to turn that building of momentum into goals and obviously into wins."

If the goals are going to come from anywhere, they are most likely to come from the feet of Callum Wilson and Joshua King. In truth, it is about time they delivered. Wilson has scored eight goals in 31 league appearances this season, after striking 14 times in 30 league games last season. King, meanwhile, has five goals in the league. Last year, he scored 12.

Those drop-offs explain Bournemouth’s problem, because conceding goals has been a constant issue during their time in the top-flight. The next goal they concede will be the 60th they have let in this season and will make this the fifth consecutive season in which they have conceded at least 60 goals. No side has ever done that before.

After Leicester comes a trip to face Manchester City, which sounds daunting. Southampton are next up before a final-day journey to Merseyside to face Everton. The fixture list is not particularly encouraging. It would feel considerably worse, though, if Bournemouth had not improved so drastically against Tottenham. The performance kept the dream alive and showed that, contrary to the evidence of recent weeks, Bournemouth can fight to the end.