INSPIRATIONAL skipper Tommy Elphick believes the outcome of Cherries’ clash at Norwich will determine whether they have had a good or bad start to the season.

Elphick, who is expected to lead Cherries at Carrow Road tomorrow (3pm), thinks the third-placed Canaries are “the best team in the Championship”.

Eddie Howe’s men head to Norfolk with six points from their first four games – but on the back of successive league defeats at the hands of Nottingham Forest and Blackburn.

Elphick told the Daily Echo: “I have seen a couple of their games on the television and a few highlights and they have threats all over the pitch. They have players with a lot of Premier League experience so it is going to be tough.

“We can’t afford to start the way we did at Blackburn or play the way we did for some of the time against Brentford and need to step up our performances. We need to look at the Forest game, where we put in a really good performance, and at the second half from Blackburn.

“We need to use those experiences to go forward and, hopefully, end this first block of games on a high because, for me, this could define whether we have had a good or bad start.”

Elphick is set to come face to face with his pal and former team- mate Lewis Grabban who has hit four goals for Norwich since his £3million move from Dean Court in the summer.

“I grew close to Grabbs when he was here and we signed at the same time,” said Elphick. “He was at the forefront of all the good things last season and it was a blow to lose him. He has gone now and we have a new squad and, in my opinion, a better one.

“He will know us as well as we know him so we will be prepared for him. I imagine he will be as fired up for this game as any other he has approached this season and will want to prove a point that his move was deserved, which it was. If selected, it will be up to me and Steve Cook to try to keep tabs on him.

“He has everything. He came through with a lot of promise at a young age and took a knock-back in his career which gave him a bit of extra fight to kick on. When he came here, he was looking to get back to where he believed he should have been.

“With his attributes, he could be playing in the Premier League. He is quick and strong and has got better in the air this season. He plays the number nine role better than most players in this league and we saw that more than anyone last season.

“But it is not just about Lewis and there are plenty of other threats in the Norwich team. We need to try to nullify all of them and, hopefully, keep a clean sheet.”