CHERRIES boss Eddie Howe admits he has had a rollercoaster relationship with pre-season training over the years.

As a player, Howe was a firm fan of putting in the hard graft over the summer - until he became troubled by injury.

But since becoming a manager, Howe found his love for the training field rekindled.

He told the Daily Echo: “When I was in my early-20s I really enjoyed pre-season. I loved being fit and being able to express myself physically and of course the football side of it was really enjoyable.

“As I got older I hated it because injuries had taken their toll on my body and it was just a case of trying to get through it, so my mindset totally changed.

“If I was injury-free, I would have loved to have still been out there with the players now.

“As a manager, training is not only the most important part of the job but it’s also the most enjoyable part for me.

“It’s where you mould your team into playing how you want them to play and certainly from what we saw at the back end of last season, there’s cause for optimism that we can improve.

“As a team you have to find solutions to problems and that’s where pre-season comes into play, because you can work on situations that you know you will face in order to overcome them.”