Dev squad diaries (days four and five): Owen Bevan

While out in France for the Tournoi Européen U21, Cherries development squad players have made first-person diary entries, with group stage games against AS Saint-Étienne, AS Monaco and EA Guingamp, before facing Standard de Liège in a play-off match, having followed two days of training during their time there.

Looking back across our time here, it’s been a really good experience for us. Even though it’s pre-season, it’s been competitive.

To have young players who are coming up experience that, too, it’s been really good for us.

It’s always a privilege to be captain and out here has been no different; I did it in the under-18s and this is the first time for the development squad.

So, on a personal level, it’s been good to experience that and help the young ones coming up.

I like to lead by example with the way I play and the way I am off the pitch, and then my voice on the pitch is something I’m working to improve on.

Being out with the first team in Marbella has helped that because that was really good, especially working under the new manager and a new way of playing.

There were so many good players around me and that really gave me a lot to learn; I really enjoyed that.

Coming here it was then definitely a case of trying to impart that knowledge to the lads here because we try to emulate the first-team environment as much as possible.

We’ve also had some really good bonding time out here with sharing rooms and always spending time together.

That’ll be really important for us, especially with the category two league coming this year.

We’ve also faced a really good standard here, which has been a big challenge for us with facing lots of older players.

It’s been a first European tournament for a lot of the boys as well, so that’s been good for them.

All of that is ideal as we go into that category two schedule. It’ll be a big step up from last season, so it’s great experience to have had going into that.

Up the Cherries!

- Owen