EDDIE Howe defended his team selection against Burton Albion and insists Cherries' mood remains "very positive" heading into tomorrow's Premier League clash against West Ham United.

Howe made 10 changes for Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie at Pirelli Stadium, where Cherries were humbled 2-0 by the League One outfit.

But tomorrow's contest against the Hammers at Vitality Stadium (3pm) is a meeting of two sides who have made good starts in the top-flight, currently sitting fifth and sixth in the table.

And boss Howe insists the midweek defeat at Burton would not impact the league form.

He said: "We were very disappointed to go out (of the cup). In terms of the team that I picked, I still love that team and I love the players within the team.

"I think it was full of quality players. For whatever reason on the night, that didn't show. But I can't be wise after the event, I can only pick the team I think is the right team before the game and hope then the result takes care of itself.

"You expect criticism if you don't win, but in terms of the players that I picked, the individuals in that team, they were good enough to win that match, but for whatever reason it didn't happen."

He added: "We've got a really young squad this year, some really talented young players that we want to give opportunities to. If I don't play them in that game, when do they get their chance to show how good they are?

"The young players will learn from that and that's a valuable tool for them to play in that, experience it, know that we weren't at our best and recover from it."

But Howe was keen to remember his side's strong Premier League form as his side chase a third straight top-flight win for the first time since a run of four consecutive victories straddling across the end of the 2017-18 and beginning of the 2018-19 campaigns.

"It's very important we don't forget that, the positivity of the early season form," he said.

"The result against Southampton, the result against Everton and yet if you get blind-sided by it, you can become a little bit negative in your thinking. So from my perspective, it's very positive in the lead up to West Ham, trying to recreate the atmosphere we had here against Everton, which was really good from the supporters and I'm looking for the players to put on a really good show for the fans.

He added: "We know how difficult the league is, so we'd love to win three in a row. It would be the first time in a while we'd have been able to do that, so that's a huge incentive for us."