Rowell Report: Bournemouth are not Barcelona, Sunderland players must believe they can win

The Cherries are a great example of just what can be achieved even if you’re not a big City club and Sunderland fans must look at them and shake their heads in disbelief wondering why Sunderland can’t at least match them.

Look at the differences between the two clubs, one averages over 40,000, the other 12,000.

One club has a state-of-the-art stadium with all the corporate facilities that generates so much money that Bournemouth can only dream of.

I don’t know what their training facilities are like but I would be surprised if they came close to Sunderland’s.

Yet, despite all these advantages and the fact that Sunderland have been in the Premier League longer, the south coast club has overtaken Sunderland and don’t have the constant relegation worries we have.

None of this is a criticism of Bournemouth, far from it, you have to respect a club that punches above its weight as where they have come from, to where they are now, in a relatively short space of time, is astonishing.

Great credit must go to manager Eddie Howe, as he has overseen the rise of Bournemouth through the divisions and being one of the few young English coaches in the Premier League it is no wonder he was linked with the England job after Sam Allardyce left.

He also persuaded Arsenal and England star Jack Wilshere to join and that made a statement, but they are far from a one-man team.

Bournemouth’s strength is their home record.

They will give anybody a hard game at the Vitality Stadium and in their last home outing they thrashed Hull City 6-1.

However, for all their recent success, Sunderland should remember Bournemouth are not Barcelona.

They are a mid-table team and the players have got to somehow start believing they can start to turn things around and get a badly needed first win of the season.