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How Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich can avoid Premier League relegation

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After play-off final winners Norwich joined Bournemouth and Watford in promotion from the Championship, attention is already turning to whether they will survive in the Premier League.

Here, we look at what they can learn from Leicester, Burnley and QPR and outline some dos and don’ts to follow…

DO… bring in experience

Players like Esteban Cambiasso don’t grow on trees, admittedly, but the Champions League-winning midfielder showed the value of experience as he helped newly-promoted Leicester beat the drop in stunning style. Cambiasso’s enduring quality was evident throughout the season as he scored five goals in 31 Premier League appearances, but the 34-year-old’s psychological impact and winning mentality was even more important to manager Nigel Pearson.

Esteban Cambiasso celebrates
Image: Esteban Cambiasso: One of the signings of the season

"We'd love him to be here again next year because he's proven throughout the season that he brings an awful lot to a Premier League side, even at his age,” said the Leicester boss recently. "He has performed exceptionally well and is a really good pro, but he's experienced some pretty amazing periods during his career. He's got a great CV and you don't know how psychologically a season like this takes out of somebody who has not experienced this sort of thing before.”

Cambiasso wasn’t the only experienced head who helped steer Leicester to safety, either. Robert Huth steadied their defence after his arrival in January, while the likes of Mark Schwarzer and Matthew Upson were also brought in to add Premier League knowhow. Finding (and affording) another ageing superstar like Cambiasso won’t be easy – and QPR have shown how it can backfire – but Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich would be wise to start looking. Could 35-year-old Italy striker Antonio Di Natale be persuaded to follow Cambiasso’s footsteps from Serie A? Or could Didier Drogba be tempted by one last season in the Premier League?

DO… add quality over quantity

After promotion from the Championship, the temptation can be to embark on a frenzied summer of transfer spending. QPR spent huge sums on 17 new players in their disastrous 2012/13 season, while Crystal Palace endured a nightmare start to the 2013/14 campaign after signing no fewer than 16 players following their promotion via the play-offs. The lesson for Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich is simple: they must target quality over quantity. All three sides will need to add to their squads to cope with Premier League football, but dramatic overhauls usually have a damaging effect.

Leicester City's Leonardo Ulloa scores his second of the game to make it 3-0 from the penalty spot
Image: Leonardo Ulloa: Scored 11 Premier League goals for Leicester

Leicester added eight new faces to their first team squad this season, fewer than both Burnley and QPR. Cambiasso, Huth, Upson and Schwarzer brought invaluable experience, £8million striker Leonardo Ulloa top scored with 13 goals in all competitions, Marc Albrighton shone in the final weeks of the season, Croatian striker Andrej Kramaric showed promise and Ben Hamer provided another option in goal. Jamie Vardy, meanwhile, became the latest example of a player to excel in the top flight after a career in the lower leagues. If this year’s promoted trio are to survive next season, it is crucial they get the balance right between current players and new additions.

DO… keep your players fresh

For newly-promoted sides facing a possible relegation battle in the top flight, it is crucial to keep players fresh for the gruelling final weeks of the season. Fatigue was an issue for Burnley in particular in 2014/15. Sean Dyche’s squad lacked adequate depth and the Clarets made just 89 substitutions all season – the fewest of any Premier League side. By contrast, only Manchester City and Chelsea made more than Leicester's 111 changes.

Michael Duff of Burnley looks dejected after his team were relegated after the Barclays Premier League match against Hull City
Image: Burnley: Only won seven Premier League games all season

Pearson’s squad management ensured Leicester had the energy for their late-season surge up the table, while Burnley’s players were unable to find that extra gear when it mattered, winning just three out of 19 Premier League games in the second half of the season. Burnley’s non-stop running also took its toll. The industrious Clarets covered more ground than their opponents in 37 of their 38 matches, but they might have been better off conserving their energy when possible.

DON’T… be dependent on a single goalscorer

QPR’s Charlie Austin and Burnley’s Danny Ings were success stories in the Premier League, but they simply didn’t get the support they needed from their team-mates. Austin’s 18 goals and five assists accounted for 55 per cent of the R’s goals in the Premier League, while Ings was involved in 54 per cent of the Clarets’ strikes with 11 goals and four assists. For QPR, Leroy Fer was the only other player to score more than three goals (six), while for Burnley there was only George Boyd and Ashley Barnes (five each).

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 20: Charlie Austin of QPR celebrates his goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Queens Park Rangers and West Brom
Image: Charlie Austin's goals weren't enough to keep QPR up

Leicester’s top scorer was Ulloa with 11 league goals, but Vardy, David Nugent and Cambiasso all chipped in with five, Riyad Mahrez notched four and Jeffrey Schlupp netted three. So while QPR and Burnley’s scoring was largely dependent on Austin and Ings, the Foxes boasted numerous goal threats. A deadly striker is worth their weight in gold to a newly-promoted club, but QPR and Burnley have shown they can’t do it on their own.

DON’T… carry players who aren’t up for the fight

Hard work, humility and determination can get you a long way in a relegation battle. While Leicester pulled together for their remarkable run of seven wins from their last nine games, QPR’s fractured squad fell apart in the final weeks of the season.

“On the whole, the dressing room has turned up and given everything,” said Joey Barton in an explosive interview with Sky Sports. “One or two bad eggs have spoiled it. If it had been done my way, they would have been out of the building straight away."

Boss Chris Ramsey agreed with the midfielder: "We had players that just weren’t able to train up to the same standards as the other players.

“As a professional footballer who earns vast sums of money, the least you expect is someone to come in and always put themselves in a position to be picked."

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QPR boss Chris Ramsey expects a big clear-out of their high-earning players

There is no reason to believe Bournemouth, Watford or Norwich will suffer from such dressing room disharmony, but it is still vital they learn from QPR’s mistakes and ensure they are all in it together when next season gets started.

DON’T… rush into managerial sackings

Leicester boss Pearson appeared to be on his way out of the club after his bizarre touchline altercation with Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur in February, but the Foxes were richly rewarded for sticking by their man. Sometimes a change of manager becomes a necessity and a new appointment has a transformative effect, but Leicester’s example proves that stability also has its merits.

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Nigel Pearson credits Leicester's players for their Premier League survival

Some of Pearson’s behaviour won him few friends outside of the club, but he never lost the support of his players. “All the praise in the world he deserves,” goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel told the Daily Mail earlier this month. “The boss has been immense. He is the best manager I have played under. Everyone has got to know that the Nigel Pearson they see and the Nigel Pearson we see are two very different people. He is a charismatic guy. A born leader. He has a great sense of humour and an energy about him that transmits to the lads. He is very infectious with his enthusiasm for football. I think he should be manager of the year.”

Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich are likely to go through difficult periods next season, but if their managers retain the backing of the players, resisting the urge to wield the axe could well be the right decision.

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