AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth defender Simon Francis believes that the team spirit within the camp was one of the major reasons for the Cherries’ successful 2015/16 season.
The 31-year-old was one of several Cherries players to have made the journey from League One to the Premier League over the years.
Keeping those core players was also a big influence to survival in the debut top flight campaign according to Francis, who made 42 appearances for the club last season.
"I think the manager obviously bringing in the right players, building the squad right, has been key,” Francis started. "I think it's been a period of time where we have built a successful squad. It wasn't an overnight thing in the Premier League.
"We hadn't brought in ten, 10, 11 players and the whole starting line-up didn’t change, I think that's kept us in the league.
"A lot of the lads played in League One, the Championship and I can't think of too many teams that have done that kind of thing - been promoted then put out a similar kind of team in the Premier League.
"Obviously the gaffer added players to the squad to strengthen it, you have to in the Premier League, you have to be competitive with the top teams.
"But I think he's got to take a lot of credit for that, for bringing in the right characters. It's a tight knit bunch and we've got a great togetherness and team spirit."
Francis has cited the example of Premier League champions Leicester City as to how crucial team spirit can be. The Foxes unbelievably were crowned champions, drawing plenty of plaudits for not only their achievements, but their togetherness and spirit.
"I think if you look at Leicester and what they've done this season, everyone is saying a lot of the reason they achieved what they did is because of the team spirit and their unity as a team, not necessarily their talent on the pitch," Francis continued.
"You look at the squads they have competed against, the likes of Tottenham and Man City. That's how important it is to have a good team spirit and I think that was one of the strengths of our season too.
"And we don't want to stop here, we want to build on that and try and climb up the league next season."
