Eddie Howe offers an apology to Bournemouth's fans after they made a 520-mile round trip to watch heavy defeat against Huddersfield Town

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Eddie Howe apologised to Bournemouth’s 1,200 travelling supporters and warned that his side remain in a relegation battle. 

Fans set off in coaches at around 1.30am on the 520-mile round trip for Sunday’s midday kick-off, only to witness a dismal display as Bournemouth shipped four goals at Huddersfield.

Howe — who is debating taking his squad abroad during the fortnight without a game — criticised Bournemouth’s lack of desire. 

Eddie Howe apologised to Bournemouth's travelling supporters after defeat at Huddersfield

‘We were well aware of what sacrifices the fans made,’ he said. ‘I highlighted it to the players before the game. 

‘The time and money are extreme and their loyalty has been rewarded with a poor performance. I apologise to them for that. 

‘It’s a difficult one to explain. We were below par, we were disappointing, we lost too many 50-50s. Collectively we weren’t good today and individually we weren’t good. The goals epitomised our performance really. 

Coaches set off on the 520-mile round trip for Sunday's midday kick-off at around 1:30am

‘We should look as hungry, if not hungrier, than them. Every game should be treated as a cup final. 

‘We’re still in a relegation battle and we always have been. It’s very tight and results like this don’t help us.’ 

Huddersfield’s first win for almost two months takes them out of the relegation zone. And Alex Pritchard, the scorer of Huddersfield’s first goal in the seventh minute, hailed a ‘massive win’. 

‘We’ve got to keep this momentum up and we’ve got to get points on the table because there are loads of teams in this,’ he said. ‘We have to show that week in, week out.’

Fans were subject to a dismal display as the Cherries shipped four goals against the Terriers