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Skipper Jones proud of run and praises Cherries' mentality

AFC Bournemouth host Oxford United in the National League Southern Premier Division on Wednesday night, aiming to extend their run without defeat.

The [Cherries](http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/sport/cherries/clubnews/?ref=au)’ run saw them miss out on promotion from tier four despite an unbeaten season two years ago, before winning the league last season.

This season, they sit in second in the league, in their first season at tier three, having won five and drawn two of their seven games so far.

Jones admitted her pride at the run.

Abby Jones _(Image: Richard Crease)_

“It's definitely something that we speak about sometimes,” she told the Daily Echo.

“It's always in the back of our minds, but to be fair, I think we always make sure that we focus on the next game in hand.

“Whenever we start training in a new week, on a Monday, all we ever think about is the next game on a Sunday.

“And I think that's probably what's helped us get to where we are now, is just focusing on what's ahead.”

Despite being on such a remarkable run, Jones praised the squad’s mentality and not getting ahead of themselves.

“We definitely take each game as it comes,” she said.

“One game at a time is always something that we've said. And I think just one thing we've probably worked on is mentality within the team.

Abby Jones _(Image: Richard Crease)_

“Going through a change \[of managers\] at a certain time was hard for everyone.

“But now we've all settled into it and it's going really well for us.

“I think just having that good team around us with the same mentality, everyone's here for the right reasons, has helped us get where we are now.”

The Cherries squad this season has been bolstered by players with experience at higher tiers in the women’s game – with the likes of Sophie Quirk arriving from Portsmouth and Jessica Hennessy from Nottingham Forest.

“We've got a good squad of 18, 19 players,” Jones said.

“A couple of development team players help train with us as well.

“Having bigger players like Jess, Sophie, who've come in from high levels, had a lot of experience, so they've brought that in and it's not only helped us as a team, but as individuals in training.

“We're able to work with them, work off them, learn new things from them, learn how to defend in certain ways, learn how to attack in certain ways, and we've definitely brought that into our game and helped develop our game plan.”

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