AFC Bournemouth
afcb.co.uk has been speaking to some of the key figures in AFC Bournemouth's rise from League Two to the Premier League, starting with Scottish defender Warren Cummings.
I wasn’t surprised that Eddie became a manager, only that he got the job as soon as he did. As a player, he had a steely determination and was always self-critical. You could see he had the potential to become a very good manager.
Eddie changed when he was appointed as manager but he had to. He was part of Kevin Bond’s coaching team and then suddenly the buck stopped with him. It only made him more determined and driven.
We were in an awful position when he took over. I would have been lying at the time if I said I was confident we could stay up. We were underachieving and needed the guidance Eddie gave us.
Pulling off the Great Escape was a huge achievement. Although we had the points deduction, I thought we could stay up. However, we had a bad start and we were in big trouble at Christmas.
What that squad did shouldn’t be underestimated. There was every chance the club could have folded if we went down.
We were battling against unique circumstances. We had a very small squad, with 17 players on the books which is almost unheard of even for a small club, but we had momentum. We knew we could put a run of results together and won promotion the following season.
I was disappointed to see Eddie and Jason leave for Burnley. The team were doing well and I thought they would stay until the end of the season. But it worked out well for the club because they came back as better coaches capable of working at a higher level.
Maxim Demin arrived shortly afterwards and you could tell he was ambitious straight away. The previous chairman had made things more professional and efficient, but the new owner brought investment and we started buying players for the first time in my stay at the club.
It was only a matter of time until the club moved on to bigger and better things, but I never thought it had Premier League potential. I thought promotion to the Championship alone was outstanding achievement.
There is strength in depth, none more so than in my old position at left back. I know Charlie Daniels, who has done really well, having played with him and Tyrone Mings has a great deal of potential.
I still always talk about what’s going on at the club with my former Cherries team-mates. You can’t help and even as we speak I’m waiting to watch Eddie on Sky Sports News.
I’m proud to see my friends and former team-mates doing so well. You can feel the excitement around the town and I can’t wait to see what happens this season.
