SHAUN MacDonald has vowed to put any thoughts of gaining game time elsewhere on the backburner in order to fight for his place at Cherries.

The Wales international, 27, admitted in January that he may consider a loan move having not featured in the Championship but went on to make three starts and two substitute appearances in the league.

From there, MacDonald was drafted back into his country’s plans following a four-year absence and made a late appearance as a substitute in Wales’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Israel in March.

And having benefited from another call-up to Chris Coleman’s squad over the summer, the Swansea-born midfielder hopes to use his extra time on the training pitch to force his way into Cherries’ Premier League side.

MacDonald told the Daily Echo: “The situation is totally different now. The team was picking itself last season and, at that stage, I thought it might be a good time to go and get some games. But with pre-season coming up, everybody has a chance to stake their claim again.

“It is a fresh start for everyone to try to impress the gaffer and his staff. I am not going back thinking about joining other clubs, it is not the way I work. I want to go in and focus 100 per cent on trying to impress as much as I can for Bournemouth.

“Every footballer wants to play and I think you get the best out of players when you give them a consistent run of games, which I struggled to get last season.

“Hopefully, that will change. My aim is to come back and impress as much as I can in pre-season and take my chance. But I am sure all the other lads are thinking the same way.

“There have been a few additions already and the gaffer has added some real quality. Once the season starts, we will know a bit more but I will give everything I have to get back in the team on a regular basis.

“From my point of view, I will be looking to do all the things I know I am capable of and hopefully, my chance will come.”

On his Welsh experience, MacDonald added: “Chris Coleman (Wales manager) came to watch and I did enough to impress him to call me up again. Hopefully, I can stay in his plans now.

“It definitely helps playing against top quality players and training with lads who have so much Premier League experience and know what it takes to take to that big stage every week.

“When you get called up, you have to enjoy and embrace it. You come away once every couple of months and it is a nice change that gives you a different experience and different perspectives.”