Bournemouth midfielder Jefferson Lerma has admitted their relegation battle is “suffering and a constant fight”.
Gary O’Neil’s side currently find themselves 18th in the table after 28 games but level on points with West Ham in 17th and Leicester City in 16th ahead of them.
After something of a rocky start to the campaign they are more than in the fight to stay up, with only three points separating them from Crystal Palace in 12th.
Their battle against relegation was handed a major boost last weekend with a 1-0 win over Liverpool at home, a result which moved them up the table and closer to safety.
It’s likely to be a scrap until the end of the season and Lerma admits that it is a situation which is making him harder as a footballer.
“It is a suffering and a constant fight,” he told AS.
“Sometimes things don’t go well but you have to keep rowing. It is a difficult situation but it hardens you as a footballer.”
Keeping Bournemouth in the Premier league is currently the focus for Lerma, at which point he will then need to decide where his future lies.
His contract with Bournemouth comes to an end in the summer and he is yet to sign a new deal to extend his current six year stay.
Lerma has already been linked with a move away, with a report yesterday indicating that Besiktas are eyeing him up for a potential transfer.
He could also potentially return to Spain, where he played earlier in his career with Levante before joining Bournemouth in 2018, but insists that’s not on his mind just yet.
“It’s (Spain) a great country to play football and live in but now the priority is to save the team,” he added.
“My contract ends in the summer but at this moment sports matters much more to me than contractual matters.”
