AFC Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe addressed the media following the conclusion of the 2016/17 season at Leicester City.

The Cherries finished 9th in the Premier League, recording their highest ever league finish.

Here’s what the manager had to say.

On finishing ninth in the Premier League…

I think it’s complimentary to the players and how they have conducted themselves. The results in the main have been good but it’s not something we really planned for.

Obviously we would have loved to have done it but it wasn’t something we planned early in the season. The improvement of the team has been really good and I’m proud of the players.

It’s a real justification of how the team has improved, we want to improve year on year.

On the point gained against Leicester…

I felt that for 30 minutes we looked excellent.

It was pleasing that there was no end of season feel, but we lost our way at half time, they found their rhythm and we didn’t make our dominance pay.

What’s next for the club…

I feel there is a lot of improvement to come.

What is next? We’ll wait and see. There will be a long summer where recruitment of course will be important, but at the minute let’s enjoy what the players have achieved this season and give them plenty of credit.

I think we’ve become more streetwise to the Premier League, it’s a challenge for us to improve.