CAPTAIN Tommy Elphick insists Cherries must strike with precision timing to make the most of their solid start to the new season.

Eddie Howe's men head into Saturday's home clash against Rotherham United (3pm) with a firm footing in the Championship after picking up seven points from five games before the international break.

The Millers' visit kicks off a busy three-week spell for the Dean Court outfit with five league fixtures and a trip to Cardiff in the League Cup third round on the horizon.

But with a healthy return secured from a tough start to the campaign, centre-half Elphick believes Cherries have the perfect platform from which to build momentum.

Cherries' skipper, ever-present in the league so far, told the Daily Echo: “I think we can look at our start as a positive one.

“We have plenty of good things to build on but we haven't peaked yet, it's a long season and we want to make sure we hit top form at the right time.

“As a group and as individuals we're always looking to do more and everyone can step up their game. Nobody has put in a flawless display yet and until we reach those levels on a consistent basis then there will always be room for improvement.

“That's the beauty of this club, you can never stand still. Every day we're striving to get better and push as high up the table as possible.”

Meanwhile, Elphick argued that Cherries' creditable point at Norwich in their last match had made a significant difference to the squad's spirit ahead of their two-week sabbatical.

Assessing Cherries' fortunes so far, Elphick added: “Norwich was make or break for our start. The result we got and the manner of our performance gave the lads a lot of belief.

“In the first two games we had kept clean sheets as well as being pretty ruthless in front of goal. We took that into the Nottingham Forest game where we put together some great phases of play and we were unlucky not to get a result.

“We were disappointed with the Blackburn game because of the start that we made but we came back stronger at against a big team (Norwich) away from home. Now we have to look to push on again.”