STEVE Fletcher’s neighbours in Bearwood will be hoping the Cherries legend makes it to Anfield tomorrow.

As a kid, when it came to supporting Liverpool, Fletcher was a fanatic – and also a bit of a nuisance!

“They were the team to follow when I was growing up and Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish were my idols,” said Fletcher, who now works on the recruitment side at Vitality Stadium.

“There was a school opposite where I lived and it was surrounded by a 4ft metal fence. Every day after school and all day Saturday and Sunday, I would kick the ball against the fence and annoy the neighbours.

“I used to start at the top of the street and work my way down. People would come out of their houses and tell me to move on so I would go 10 yards further down the road and keep kicking the ball against the fence.

“I used to commentate and pretend I was playing for Liverpool against whoever. Either Rush or Dalglish would always score the winning goal and Liverpool always won the league!

“There was no family connection to Liverpool but my dad would take me to Anfield when he could. I was fanatical and everything in my room was Liverpool – flags, shirts, scarves and posters.”

Fletcher, who hung up his boots two years ago, may travel to Anfield with Eddie Howe’s squad or could watch the first league meeting between the clubs on Sky Sports.

Whatever happens, Cherries’ record appearance-maker admits he will be bursting with pride – and full of envy – when Howe’s team take to the pitch to face the Merseyside giants.

He said: “I would have given my right arm to play for this club in the Premier League and my left arm to play at Anfield. It is a venue I never got the chance to play at and that will always be a source of regret.

“I always dreamed of lining up at Anfield with the Kop singing You’ll Never Walk Alone. It is a picture to behold whenever you see it and one of the greatest traditions in the game.

“I will be very jealous of our lads but they have earned the right to be there. I know Steve Cook and Tommy Elphick are Liverpool fans and it is an experience they will cherish and relish, if selected.”

Fletcher, who first joined Cherries from Hartlepool in 1992, made more than 800 appearances in a career spanning 25 years which also included spells with Chesterfield and Crawley.

He was Howe’s first signing in January 2009 and played a pivotal role as Cherries overcame a 17-point deduction to preserve their Football League status six years ago.

Fletcher featured in all but one game when Cherries won promotion to League One the following season and again played his part as Howe’s team stepped into the Championship.

And while the bookmakers give Cherries little chance at Anfield, with Howe’s team huge underdogs, Fletcher believes they could upset the odds.

He said: “We are in this division because we deserve to be and we are meeting Liverpool on a level playing field for the first time in our history. I know they haven’t achieved recently what they did in the 80s but they are still a giant club in European football and one of the most prestigious in the world.

“We will respect them for that. I have seen teams come up from the Championship and nick positive results against some of the bigger clubs. It is not beyond our grasp by any means.

“The lads will take in the atmosphere and everything Anfield represents. But once the referee blows the first whistle, we will try to play our game. We believe we can get something at every ground but know we will need to be at our very best when we play the top teams in the Premier League. If the players give a good account of themselves, I am quietly confident we can get something.”

  • See tomorrow's edition of The Prem for interviews with Eddie Howe, Steve Cook, Dan Gosling, Marc Pugh, Simon Francis and Eunan O'Kane. Also included is a round-up of all the weekend's results, a West Ham-Leicester City scouting report and a review of the Sky Sports documentary 'AFC Bournemouth: Bust To Big Time'. The Prem is included in your copy of the Daily Echo.