EDDIE Howe revelled in Cherries’ highest finish in the English football ladder and insisted his squad had the talent to achieve even greater things.

A 1-1 draw at last season’s champions Leicester ensured Cherries ended ninth in the standings, an improvement of seven places on their inaugural campaign.

Junior Stanislas’s early goal was cancelled out by Jamie Vardy soon after the break and neither side could find a winner after that, handing Howe’s men a hard-earned point at King Power Stadium.

Although the boss admitted he had not planned for a top-10 finish in the early stages of the campaign, having achieved just that, he said his team could hit greater heights in future.

Howe said: “We were looking to improve on last season but a top-half finish was not something which was really on our list.

“Of course, we would have loved to have done it but it wasn’t something we were planning for in the early part of the season.

“It’s all about improvement rather than numbers and figures. We have improved quickly and I think it’s full justification of how good the players have been.

“I still believe there is a lot more to come. I believe there is a lot more improvement left in this group. What that is and how that comes out in our play, we will wait and see.”

Asked how his side had got better, Howe revealed experience of the top flight last season had helped his players.

He said: “I think we have become a little bit more streetwise to the Premier League. It’s such a difficult league, it is very easy to lose games even when you are dominant and we found that in our first year.

“There were games we should never have lost but did.

“That experience of Premier League games, of atmospheres and grounds, has held us in good stead for this season.

“Individually, players have grown from exposure to the league and the quality it has.

“The challenge is to maintain our very good work ethic and add an improve to the quality we already have.”

Howe expects to face a “long summer” as he bids to mastermind the next chapter in Cherries’ meteoric rise in the English game.

He said: “It’s all about trying to improve the group and making the team better. We will go away and look at areas we can improve.

“It’s a long summer for me in terms of trying to find ways to try to improve individuals and trying to improve the team and of course the recruitment will be important.

“For the moment, I just want to enjoy this season and credit the players for what they have achieved.

“I have to be very complimentary to my players, how they have conducted themselves, how they have played. Our results in the main have been very good and we have a top-half finish so credit must go to the players.”