AFC Bournemouth's development squad are enjoying life in the Professional Development League this season, after having their Category Two status approved back in the summer.
For goalkeeper, Cameron Plain, who has more than played his part as the Cherries currently sit third in the table, he believes he's benefitting from regular competitive action.
His point-blank save against Colchester just over a month ago gained plenty of plaudits from manager Alan Connell, with the side next in action away to table-toppers Millwall on Monday.
However, Plain believes there have been plenty of positives already in 2023/24 which will stand his team in good stead for a tough fixture in the capital.
"It's been good so far!" he began.
"It's been a lot nicer having a games programme in place as opposed to having friendlies, which has been the case in previous years.
"It's definitely given us something to look forward to. Obviously we like playing matches, but when there's something on it or there's a league table to look at, it's a lot better.
"As a result of that, the group is very tight-knit. When you're playing a lot of games together or travelling together, the squad are definitely brought together and you get the best out of everyone for sure."
Plain continued by delving into his training regime, which sees him involved with Andoni Iraola's first team just as much as the development squad.
"The idea of training so hard is that you then want to perform and put it into games.
"I've got a perfect balance of pushing myself in training, sometimes with the first team, and then being able to put it into a game - it's ideal really.
"I want to keep pushing and keep getting regular minutes with the development squad throughout the season.
"I don't have any set goals as such and we're early on in the campaign, but I'll always do the best I can and see where we go from there."
The Cherries take on Millwall away from home on Monday 30th October, with kick-off at 1pm.
