SIMON Francis admits he is quietly satisfied to be part of a Cherries defence which keeps fronting up to every challenge it faces.

Each member of Eddie Howe’s back four has played League One and Championship football for the club and Francis believes the quartet’s contribution to the team's rise is sometimes overlooked.

Skipper Francis and his defensive allies – Steve Cook, Adam Smith and Charlie Daniels – cost Cherries a combined figure of around £600,000. On Saturday they shut out Tottenham’s £21.9m striker Son Heung-min and his replacement, Vincent Janssen, an £18.5m buy from AZ Alkmaar.

And after being criticised for being too porous last season, Cherries have now conceded only one goal in their past four Premier League home games.

Francis told the Daily Echo: “It goes under the radar, I think. I can’t think of too many teams in the Premier League that have had the same back four from League One and proved themselves as Premier League defenders.

“I’m standing here giving myself a big head! But I played the majority of last season at centre-half and played right-back as well. And the rest of the lads had a full season. We know we can play in the Premier League, there’s no doubt about that.”

Howe dipped into the transfer market to bolster his defensive ranks this summer but there has been no shifting any of the team's ever-present rearguard.

“It was well documented in the summer that we needed to bring in a centre-half," said Francis.

"We bought Marc Wilson and Nathan Ake can play there as well. We have strength in depth but I think the back four, at the moment, are the first four on the team sheet.

“That’s credit to all the lads, not just the back four. And also to the manager and the staff, who work hard with us every day.

“We know we have to concede fewer goals than we did last season and the Spurs game was a great example of how far we’ve come.”

Prior to the start of last season, the 14 minutes Smith played as a substitute for Tottenham in 2012 represented the sum total of Premier League experience Cherries’ current backline shared between them.

And former Southend and Charlton man Francis acknowledges operating in the top-flight places demands far beyond what is asked of defenders lower down the football ladder.

“I’ve played in every division and as you go up the leagues it gets harder,” said the 31-year-old. “In the Premier League you have to stay switched on for 90 minutes.

"All 11 players on the pitch have to do that. If you make a mistake, if you switch off for a split second, teams have players running in the box, their movement is excellent.

"We concentrated for 90 minutes as a back four against Spurs. I thought everyone was outstanding and that’s why we got a clean sheet."