Ex-Leeds United man Lewis Cook has a message for ‘let down’ Bournemouth team-mates ahead of Elland Road visit

The newly-promoted side were on track to snatch a win from third-placed Tottenham Hotspur before throwing away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday.

Just eight minutes after Kieffer Moore completed his brace to double the hosts’ lead, a through-ball by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg too easily cut open Bournemouth’s defence to allow Ryan Sessegnon to kick off Spurs’ comeback.

Before Cook returns to LS11 to take on Jesse Marsch’s Leeds on Saturday, the Thorp Arch academy graduate explained that Bournemouth have to improve on staying alert in order to thrive in the top flight.

“I think it was a fantastic first half,” Cook told the Daily Echo.

“A real marker in the game, the (first Spurs) goal – the thing is, if you switch off for one moment in this league you get punished.

“It's an incredible league, and we all know that. We know we've got some bits to sharpen up on.

“It's a real tough one to take, to be honest. I felt like we worked hard enough to get the win. Against a top team, you get punished.”

The match bore similarities to the Whites’ 2-1 win at Liverpool; after going ahead to top-of-the-table opposition, both Leeds and the Cherries conceded more than 20 chances - only thanks to shot-stopper Illan Meslier, who kept out a whopping nine on-target efforts, could Leeds escape Bournemouth’s fate.

After the visit of Spurs exposed their defensive frailties, Cook claims his side are ready to move on to the Elland Road challenge.

“I think it was a tough one to take, especially for the forward players,” said Cook, who was born in York.

“I felt like in some sense we kind of let them down a little bit, with them scoring the goals and working incredibly hard.

“But we're a team and we stick together no matter what. We put this to bed and we focus on the next week.”

Cherries interim manager Gary O’Neill was impressed that his side held their own against a top team, and highlighted the difference in the club’s respective squad depths.

“We’ve lost a game against Tottenham, which is never a disgrace for us,” O’Neill said.

“There’s a big gulf between the two sides. That is known by everybody.

"Did it look like that for large parts of today? No. I thought for a large part of today we managed to close that gap and we managed to be very competitive against a top side.

"When they bring Lucas Moura, [Ivan] Perisic, Bryan Gil, Bentancur and just keep bringing world-class players off the bench, I think it can be tricky.

"The lads get tired. So they just keep bringing on really good players.”

United set a season record on Saturday for the longest distance run by a Premier League team, covering more than 120 kilometres on their way to spoiling the Reds’ attempt to extend their unbeaten home record to 30 games.

After the game, Whites midfielder Tyler Adams made sure to praise the endeavour of those who stepped off the bench.

“Everybody played their best possible game,” Adams said.

“I don't know how many subs we made, but 14 or 15 good individual performances tonight to bring it all together.”

One such substitute was debutant 18-year-old Wilfried Gnonto who, after signing on the final day of the transfer window in August, had a hand in securing United’s memorable late winner on his first senior appearance.