CHERRIES boss Eddie Howe is backing Adam Smith to put behind him what the player himself has described as “probably the worst feeling in my career”.

Smith was responsible for conceding a dramatic injury-time penalty which denied Cherries a potentially-crucial win over Sheffield Wednesday at Dean Court eight days ago.

The former Spurs man brought down Owls substitute Atdhe Nuhiu before Chris Maguire netted the resultant spot-kick to earn the visitors a 2-2 draw, a result which prevented Cherries from returning to the top of the Championship.

Smith, who was in tears following the final whistle, could be in line to feature when Cherries bid to all but seal promotion in front of the Sky Sports cameras against Bolton tomorrow.

The versatile 23-year-old is in contention to replace Simon Francis, who serves a one-match suspension for his sending off for collecting two bookings against Wednesday.

Smith, who featured in Cherries’ League One play-off semi-final defeat by Huddersfield in May 2011 after being signed on loan by Howe, has made 27 league appearances this season, including 22 from the bench.

Howe said: “I don’t think Adam needs any added motivation because he has been champing at the bit to play this season.

“Anyone who saw our cup games would tell you how impressive he was and some of those were against Premier League players so we have no doubts about his quality or ability.

“We do have options available to us. We could change system and that is something we have looked at over the past few weeks. We are not pigeon-holed into one way of dealing with Simon’s suspension. Adam is a top-quality player and a very strong character.”

Smith, who was consoled by team-mates following the draw with Wednesday, told Sky Sports: “I would probably say it was the worst feeling in my career. But players have had worse things happen to them in football, just look at the Reading goalkeeper against Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-finals.

“Mistakes happen, that is part and parcel of football and life. I just want to make sure I don’t have that feeling again or make it as rare as possible in my career.

“I just want to prove to myself that I can bounce back and help the lads get the win. I have forgotten about last week, I am sure the supporters have forgotten about it and are looking forward to the next game now.

“There is no point dwelling on the past. We have just got to look to the future and our future is in our own hands.”

Apart from Francis’s enforced absence, Howe said Cherries had no fresh injury concerns ahead of Bolton’s visit.