KEVIN Bond believes chasing those crucial three-pointers is the main reason behind Cherries' perplexing run of results.

Since the turn of the year, Cherries have won six and lost six of their 12 League One fixtures.

And it is the type of sequence that Carol Vorderman would drool over: two wins have been followed by two losses, before the cycle has started again.

It is 13 games since Cherries' last draw - a 2-2 stalemate at Bristol City on Boxing Day - but this weekend's opponents Millwall go back even further looking for their last draw - a 0-0 encounter with Huddersfield on December 5.

In relegation battles, experts always say it's the draws that kill you'. If that's the case, Bond's men are in luck.

Bond smiled: "I think I'd take that for the rest of the season - but I don't think there is any major reason behind it.

"The fact that we haven't drawn a game for so long definitely suggests that we're not going to places looking to get a 0-0 draw.

"I'd like to find a better balance between defence and attack, but it's a tricky one to play.

"I'm certainly not one for shutting up shop or going somewhere and trying to hang on for a 0-0 draw. It's not my style."

While Bond was critical of his defenders in last Saturday's 3-1 loss at Northampton, the Cherries boss also felt the lack of a target man in the ranks contributed to a poor team performance.

He said: "I felt we missed having a target man. James Hayter, David McGoldrick and Brett Pitman are not target men and neither Steve Fletcher nor Sam Vokes were fit enough. So the ball didn't stick with our strikers and we never got control of the game.

"But I felt there was a lack of concentration, a lack of focus and a lack of responsibility from our defenders.

"It is strange because in the previous games, we've looked solid - but our defending has been poor in our last two games. We haven't done anything differently in preparation - whether people have just switched off or just expected to go out and get the result, I really don't know."