FORMER AFC Bournemouth and Spurs manager Harry Redknapp cut the ribbon to unveil the Cherries new training ground, describing facilities as “fantastic”.

The training base at Kings Park is made up of two pitches featuring natural grass identical to that found in the adjacent Goldsands Stadium, as well as two extra 3G synthetic pitches.

A crowd of supporters gathered on Saturday for the opening ceremony that saw Harry, described as “Bournemouth’s legendary former manager”, successfully put away a penalty on the new training pitch... with club chairman Eddie in goal.

“It’s a fantastic facility,” said Harry at the opening, where the ribbon was also cut by Bournemouth’s Mayor Cllr Phil Stanley-Watts.

“There’s a great stadium, the infrastructure’s in place, the chairman’s done a fantastic job since he’s been here, there’s a fantastic manager and the future looks great.”

The training base was “massively important”, said Harry, who added that in the days when he was manager they used to get chased off by the park keeper.

“Training facilities are one of the most important things and now they’ve got a place where the players can come and train and call their own.

“I’m sure it will be a fantastic year for the club,” he added.

The new facilities, said chairman Eddie Mitchell , will be ready for use by the players shortly.

The new pitches should represent a boost to match preparations for the coming season, with the first match away to Oxford United in the Capital One Cup on August 15.

It will mean the team will no longer have to travel to the Canford School for training, where Cherries have had a long standing arrangement until now.

The home pitch has also been used for training in the past so having the new facilities could mean lessening the use of the playing surface in the Goldsands Stadium and potentially helping to maintain its quality for match days.