BENIK Afobe says his decision to put his international career on hold in favour of fighting for his Cherries place was vindicated by his goal against Watford on Saturday.

Afobe had harboured serious ambitions of winning this month’s Africa Cup of Nations with DR Congo – and he had designs on being the tournament’s top scorer.

But the striker sacrificed all that to focus on his Cherries career and his weekend strike was his second in three Premier League games.

“I know the tournament is a big thing for African players and African fans – and it’s the same for me, I wanted to go there,” said Afobe.

“A couple of months ago I was thinking about winning the competition with Congo and being top scorer… but it is my first (full) season in the Premier League. "Club comes before country, always, and this is the club that pays my wages.”

After wrestling with his club v country dilemma for a "long time", Afobe was dismayed when red tape kept him from featuring in Cherries’ opening two games of 2017 – the draw with Arsenal and subsequent FA Cup defeat at Millwall.

Moreover, he believes his enforced break impacted upon his efforts when he returned to the team at Hull.

“It was frustrating,” said Afobe. "It set me back a bit. I wasn’t as fit as I would have liked against Hull because I had missed two weeks.

“But these things have happened and I am just happy to have scored for the team against Watford.”

Afobe admits he would have likely paid with his place at the upper end of Cherries' striking hierarchy if he'd disappeared from view for a month.

He refutes the notion, however, that he is currently embroiled in a two-way scrap for a starting jersey with fellow forward Callum Wilson.

“It isn’t just about the pecking order, it is about my development,” added Afobe.

“I just want to keep improving, working hard and scoring as many goals as I can. I'm still only 23 and I have a long way to go.

“I don’t think I’m competing with Cal. I didn’t come on for him (against Watford) – I played up front with Cal.

“And when I scored against Burnley I was playing with Cal.

“In every club and in every job you go to there will be competition and people who want to play ahead of you or do something ahead of you.

“Me and Cal get on well, and me and (striking counterparts) Kingy (Joshua King) and Grabs (Lewis Grabban) all get on well.

“There is no ‘I want to play ahead of him’ or any gossiping. We get on like men.

“The first person to smile at me when I scored on Saturday was Callum. There is no competition, we just want to do well for Bournemouth.

“Whoever scores is not a problem as long as we keep on working hard. We all want to be part of it.”