SIMON Francis reckons Cherries will not be pushed too hard in their opening pre-season friendly but insists the clash with Minnesota United is "a good start".

Eddie Howe's troops will tonight round off their United States training camp when they take on the North American Soccer League side at National Sports Center (1am BST, Thursday).

And Francis, Cherries' newly-appointed first-team captain, is relishing the prospect of getting match minutes under his belt.

He said: "It's always important when you go on a pre-season tour to have a game at the end to put your hard work into practice.

"I think they are a second-tier team so it might not be too much of a challenge for us.

"But the first game of pre-season is always going to be like that, it's just about getting minutes and getting used to match situations again.

"We've got a lot of games when we get back to England and this is a good start for us."

Cherries have spent the bulk of their time across the pond in Chicago, where boss Howe has put his players through a tough regime.

And Francis reckons he has rarely been worked harder in professional football.

He said: "It's probably one of the toughest pre-seasons I've been involved in, which is absolutely fair enough. We've been doing double or even triple sessions some days.

"It's going to be even harder in the Premier League this season so we have to be fitter, stronger and better on the ball.

"Getting the work in now is the important thing so we can come back fitter," added Francis in an interview with the club.

Cherries under-21s are due take on their counterparts from Fulham in a friendly at Canford Park Arena this afternoon (1pm).