MARC Pugh insisted there would be no obligation for Cherries to splash the cash in the top flight and said the club could learn from the Swansea model.

The Welsh side secured three promotions in six years prior to their maiden Premier League campaign in 2011-12 and have not finished outside the top 12 since.

The rapid rise of Swansea – who won the League Cup in 2012-13 – bears similarities to Cherries' charge up the ladder with Eddie Howe's men having earned three promotions in five years.

And while Cherries are next season set to face clubs with huge financial muscle, winger Pugh feels the Dorset club can compete at the top level and cited Swansea's prudent approach as a potential inspiration.

Swans' biggest investment ahead of their first season back in the top flight was a £3.5million then club-record outlay on Danny Graham, a campaign in which they finished 11th, some 11 points clear of the relegation places.

Asked if Cherries could bridge the financial gap next term, Pugh told the Daily Echo: “I think we can. You look at the likes of Swansea who got promoted from the Championship a few years ago – in their first season in the Premier League they did not spend big at all.

“You have just got to aspire to be as good as they are.

“People say we spent this and spent that. We paid a bit of money for the likes of Callum Wilson and Matt Ritchie but other than that, most of our players came in for next to nothing.

"A big part of football these days is the characters in the dressing room and your willingness to learn and work hard for each other. We have a lot of good characters in the squad and stick together through thick and thin.

“It’s a team that wants to improve every day and be the best we can be, and that will continue next season."

Pugh could complete an impressive personal rise up the football ladder in 2015-16.

If he makes an appearance in the top flight, the 28-year-old will have featured in the top five divisions of English football.

As a youngster at Burnley, Pugh was loaned to Kidderminster in the Conference and moved on to Bury and then Shrewsbury in League Two.

Pugh later played for Hereford in League One and League Two before making the switch to Cherries in 2010.