CHERRIES boss Eddie Howe believes the mentality and attitude of his players has helped “make my job a lot easier”.

Howe will tomorrow mark his 37th birthday by taking charge of his 300th game in management when Cherries host Championship rivals Millwall.

Handed the reins on a caretaker basis at Dean Court on New Year’s Eve 2008, Howe has presided over 212 Cherries matches and 87 at former club Burnley.

Cherries were 10 points adrift of safety in League Two when, at 31, Howe became the youngest manager in the Football League after being appointed permanently in January 2009.

“It has flown by,” admitted Howe. “I can’t tell you how quickly the time has gone and how quickly life flashes before your eyes. It doesn’t seem like yesterday since I took the role.

“I have loved every minute of it. It doesn’t feel like that at times because it is such a difficult job and the highs and lows are so extreme.”

Howe, who led Cherries to League One in 2010 and to the Championship in 2013, added: “To get the players to commit to something and to then try to get them to perform at their maximum every week is difficult, not for me, but it is for them.

“That is where the mentality and attitude to training become so important. I am very fortunate to have such a good group. I can’t say that enough times and it makes my job a lot easier.

“They want to improve and learn. We had a really good two-week break in the lead up to the Ipswich game where the lads put in some hard yards and did a lot of work. I felt that was reflected in the performance. It was one of our best of the season, not matched by the result.”

Howe was also asked whether he felt he had changed peoples’ perceptions of the club after Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy insisted he was “not having that homely little Bournemouth issue when you come here”.

“I don’t know where the little old Bournemouth tag comes from,” said Howe. “For me personally, I just manage the team and am very proud to do so.

“Yes, we haven’t got the stadium that a lot of clubs have and we may not have had the history that a lot of clubs in this league have.

“But I think the squad I have love trying to prove people wrong and love trying to set new markers so we will carry on doing that, hopefully, as quietly as we can.”