CHERRIES interim boss Gary O’Neil was asked whether he felt he was getting better as a manager game-by-game and joked: “I hope I’m not getting any worse!”

The former Portsmouth and West Ham midfielder has overseen a five-game unbeaten run while in temporary charge of the Dorset club, having stepped up following the sacking of Scott Parker in August.

The role is O’Neil’s first in the main hotseat, having been brought to Cherries by Jonathan Woodgate as a first-team coach in February 2021.

Asked whether he felt he was improving as a boss during his time in charge, the 39-year-old said: “I don’t know, I mean I hope I’m not getting any worse. It would be early for me to start getting worse! But yeah, I am enjoying it. I understand how fine the margins are.”

O’Neil saw his side seal a 2-1 victory over Leicester on Saturday and is expected to be in the dugout for this weekend’s Premier League trip to Fulham (3pm).

The one thing the Beckenham-born coach revealed he had learned was just how slender the differences could be in a top-flight game.

“We changed things at half-time (on Saturday) where Leicester catch us for a little bit and they could easily score at that moment,” he admitted.

“It’s more the performance and what the boys give, because the result is such fine margins. It went our way when we took a bit of a risk.

“But we could easily have gone out like we did in the second half and been punished. I understand now, how it can swing.”

At the time of writing, O’Neil was as short as 1/4 with bookmakers SkyBet to take the role on a full-time basis.