Pitman proud to have been part of incredible journey

Pitman won no fewer than three golden boots as the Cherries enjoyed a meteoric rise from the depths of League Two to the top flight in the space of six years.

Top marksman in the Greatest Escape of 2008/09, the Jerseyman again led the charts and was ever present as Eddie Howe’s team clinched promotion to League One 12 months later.

Like Howe at Burnley, Pitman upgraded to the Championship when he joined Bristol City in August 2010, only to reunite with his former boss at Dean Court in November 2012.

Another promotion soon followed, Pitman ending the 2012/13 season as the club’s leading goalscorer as Howe guided the Cherries back to the second tier following a 23-year absence.

In order to compete at a higher level, reinforcements were drafted in and Pitman started the Cherries’ second season in the Championship behind Callum Wilson and Yann Kermorgant.

And while a fourth golden boot made have eluded him, his 13 goals – including six in the final eight games – proved invaluable as Howe’s heroes pulled up a chair at the top table.

Pitman and Howe was a footballing marriage made in heaven, the striker leaving a lasting legacy when he was granted a richly-deserved free transfer to Ipswich in June 2015.

In the latest in our series of interviews for The Journey, Pitman looks back on his final season and his crucial contribution to the Cherries’ promotion to the Premier League.

Pitman, who joined the Cherries as a 15-year-old, told afcb.co.uk: “In our first season in the Championship, Yann and Lewis Grabban had been a good partnership.

“Yann was a top player and I’m not sure people outside the club gave him enough credit for how good he actually was.

“We signed Callum at the start of the second season and he was on fire from the first game at Huddersfield.

“Callum was always going to play number nine because that wasn’t mine or Yann’s strengths.

“Realistically, if all three of us were fit, it was never going to be me and Yann starting together and Yann got the nod early on.

“It’s difficult when you are used to playing every week and being the main goalscorer.

“It’s tough to get your head round it and I probably didn’t do that as well as I could have in our first season in the Championship when I didn’t play.

“In the summer, I worked really hard on my fitness because I wanted to play as big a part as I could in what I thought was going to be a successful season and that’s how it worked out.

“I had to be patient. I came off the bench in the first few games and then got my opportunity after Yann had been sent off at Bolton.

“Everyone was disappointed for Yann but I knew it would give me a platform and I knew I needed to take it.

“Not that I ever felt out of the manager’s plans but if you start a few games and score a few goals, it puts you back in his thoughts.

“I scored a couple in a 3-0 win against Reading and then opened the scoring in the 8-0 win at Birmingham.

“That was an incredible day. Most people will go through their whole career and not experience winning a game as convincingly as we did that day.

“I remember coming off just after we had gone 4-0 up and being devastated because you just knew there were more goals to come!

“We came from behind to win at Wolves and I watched the footage of our second goal recently. It was a nice moment. Everybody ran off in different directions celebrating after Matt Ritchie had scored.

“We went to Blackpool and won 6-1. We were on a roll at that point, we were turning up and beating pretty much everybody.

“We were playing with such high confidence, we were so well drilled and well organised and everybody knew their jobs. We were too good for that league at times.”

Although an indifferent run of results saw the Cherries slip to fourth place at the end of February, Pitman scored six times in four games in March to take them back to the top by the start of April.

“You are always going to go through a tough spell, especially in the Championship because you play so many games in quick succession and there are a lot of good teams in there,” said Pitman.

“I remember losing at Leeds on a Tuesday night and we were very unlucky. I had a goal disallowed which we later found out was about two yards onside and Yann missed a penalty.”

Pitman plundered a hat-trick in a resounding 4-0 win over Blackpool in mid-March, a game his wife and children missed as they were on holiday in Dubai.

“I’m sure they were probably happier sitting on a beach in Dubai!” joked Pitman.

“I remember the Blackpool game very well because it was emotional. In the lead up to the game, a guy called Dave Barnes (pictured above) had come in for a visit. He was terminally ill.

“People used to come in from time to time because Eddie was always really good with the supporters.

“After Dave’s visit, we all agreed that if anyone scored, they would run to where he was sitting and celebrate with him.

“We knew where he would be watching from and everybody made a beeline for him after I had scored the first goal.

“We played Middlesbrough a couple of weeks later and won 3-0. I think everybody had a feeling we had a chance of going up after that game.

“There was an international break then and the squad went to Dubai for the first time. We recharged our batteries and were ready for the run-in. That was massive for us.

“I remember coming on at Reading and the atmosphere being electric behind the goal where are fans were. 

“I came off the bench in the Bolton game and it was unbelievable to be part of it, especially when I thought back to where we were a few years earlier.

“It was great to be involved in all three promotions, they were all special in their own way.

“I think reaching the Premier League for the first time probably made that one stand out.

“But if we hadn’t stayed up in League Two when Eddie first took over, who knows what might have happened.

“The League Two squad was the catalyst for what has been achieved and I am just so proud to have been part of what has been an incredible journey.”