AFC Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe has spoken highly of his players after they emerged victorious against Swansea City in a 2-0 victory, which takes them closer than ever to securing their Premier League status for the next season.

Benik Afobe and Josh King got the goals for the Cherries in that vital victory and Howe has hailed the impact of the duo on their season, going forward.

King has scored nine goals in his ten previous outings, including a hattrick against last week's opponents West Ham United in a 3-2 victory for the Cherries, while Afobe played a key role in the victory against the Swans with a deflected effort as well as a well taken goal to give his side the three points.

Howe delighted for Afobe

Afobe hasn't had the best of seasons in terms of goals scored but Howe decided to keep faith in the Englishman and Afobe certainly vindicated his managers' belief in his abilities with a great display against the Swans.

Howe said,"I am delighted for him, Afobe, as I was for Josh last week". He then highlighted the role of his strikers in his team and said that to have "goalscorers doing their job" for the team and admitted that it is "massive" for any team.

He further added saying,"The confidence that you can score goals in any moment, that you have the ability to open up defences." He highlighted Afobe's contributions to the game against Swansea and said that he thought that Afobe's second goal was a "really good finish" at a "big moment" in the game.

Howe gives full credit to players

When Bournemouth drew 1-1 with Manchester United, it was considered a turning point in their season and Howe supports that notion as his side put behind a poor run of form at the start of 2017.

That positive run of game for the Cherries includes a well fought 3-2 victory and Howe has spoken in support of his players. He said,"There have been really positive steps for us in the last three games."

He further added,"United was a real turning point for us and then we have backed it up with the two home games that we knew were so important, especially with the fixtures we have to come".

Howe gave "full credit" to the players and said that it was "one thing knowing about the importance of the game" but actually "going out" and "delivering a performance" are two very different things, and so he thought that the players were very "impressive" in their display.

Speaking on the Cherries poor start to 2017, Howe said that the team was a going through a spell where everything that "could go wrong" was going "wrong" and praised the players during that time because they hadn't "changed".

He said that the "mentality" of the group hadn't changed, which is the "most important" thing as he felt that if the team kept doing the "right things" then the "results" would turn around.

The Cherries sit at 11th on the table as they head into the international break, Eddie Howe can relax for a while now as his side have all but secured their premier league status for next season.