Bournemouth midfielder Marvyn Bartley admits their poor start to the season will be to blame if they end up being relegated to League Two.Five consecutive victories have moved the Cherries to within four points of safety but with only two games left this season, time is against them to avoid the drop.

Kevin Bond's side would have already secured their safety but for a 10-point deduction for entering administration - but Bartley believes the disappointing start to the campaign which saw them earn just one win from their first nine league games will be equally accountable.

"All we can do is win our games and we need results to go for us," he told the Bournemouth Echo.

"Staying up is possible if we win our two games and nothing would be worse than winning one, losing one and going down by one point.

"It would be harsh to go down winning seven in a row but it's over the whole season and we didn't have the best of starts, maybe we should have picked up points earlier in the season."

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