AFCB will feel more confident with main man back

Bournemouth's defence hasn't been at its best this season, but Eddie Howe will be pleased that one man has been making his way back to training and is now ready to play. The season could well have ended without Steve Cook playing another game, but the COVID-19 period has enabled him to recover from his hamstring pull and he is probably more important than most to have a round as a leader and a player to inspire on the pitch and in the dressing room.

Steve Cook is ready to play his part.

Listening to Steve talk about the 6-1 hammering of Hull City for the Cherries' repicked game you could see how he was looking forward to coming back, and his conversation was always flicking over to what the team had to do now in its position and how to get out of it. Steve knows what it took to get into the Premier League and he will make sure that everyone else knows that they must give there all to put more points on the table in the next few weeks.

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He will hope to play the remaining games with Nathan Aké, and Bournemouth fans will hope that this is not the last series of games that they get to play together in Bournemouth shirts. Stability is built from the back and while Bournemouth have had their troubles this season, it is another year when these two players have got to know more about each other's game. It is going to take a huge effort to see them both take up their positions in this team next season, but if they keep the team up we may see that Nathan is not sold and Steve can still reminisce about Championship days, rather than having to play back in that league again.

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I get the feeling that Steve may well go all out to get a goal in these remaining games. He wants to show that he has contributed and the players seem to react well when Cook does get forward and strikes on AFCB. Steve Cook gives the option of leaving Francis out of the starting line up, and I expect Howe to do that because he believes that Steve is now the player that the team see as the heart of AFCB. Steve just needs to have a big game and he will feel that he has never been away.

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