Eddie Howe has paid tribute to Leicester City ahead of AFC Bournemouth's trip to the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
Claudio Ranieri's side sit second heading into 2016, behind leaders Arsenal on goal difference, after a remarkable first half of the season.
Howe said: "They have been outstanding, they really have.
"The attitude and commitment of their players in every game has been second to none.
"They work hard and have a number of match-winners in their squad, so it's full credit to them for what they have achieved so far this year."
Bournemouth's six-match unbeaten run came to an end at Arsenal on Monday and Howe, whose side sit 16th, three points above the relegation zone, says rest and recuperation have been the order of the day.
"We haven't trained since Arsenal," he added.
"Not the lads that played, anyway. With the fixture work load we really had to protect our players this week.
"The normal feeling is that you want to work all the time, but you have to be aware of the physical exhaustion those two games in three days had on our players.
"They were two really tough fixtures and the only way to ensure that we go into Leicester and perform is to recover properly."
