COURAGE in the face of adversity. This intangible, yet priceless quality has underpinned Cherries’ astonishing growth under Eddie Howe.

Right back to when ‘Eddie had a dream, on minus 17,’ as the fans’ song has it, the entire club has been imbued with a definite mental resolve.

It isn’t a characteristic that necessarily results in instant gratification. But, in terms of the long game, it will generally see you right.

Asked for an occasion during this past season that best exemplified Cherries’ resilience you’d probably plump for December’s outrageous comeback victory over Liverpool.

Certainly, 3-1 down with 14 minutes to play, Howe’s men seemed to be drowning under the Merseysiders’ aggressive, skilful onslaught.

Ryan Fraser’s goal saw Cherries come up gasping for air, though – and announced the Scot’s arrival as a bona fide Premier League winger, to boot.

The rest is already inscribed in club legend: Steve Cook’s sumptuous finish levelled the contest and Nathan Ake gave his accomplished loan stay its headline moment by ramming home a stoppage-time winner.

Viewed in a broader context, however, Cherries’ plight against Liverpool was hardly catastrophic. They went into the match in handy form and the season was relatively young.

What’s more, losing at home to Jurgen Klopp’s team isn’t the type of blow to inflict deep-seated scars. Liverpool, remember, won at Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton this season.

Fast forward two months from that barmy Sunday at Vitality Stadium and Howe’s team were taking on the Reds’ city rivals, Everton.

In the intervening period they had won two of nine Premier League matches, collecting eight points in all.

Not a slump of fatal proportions by any means, but things were trending in the wrong direction. A chastening FA Cup exit at League One Millwall added to the sense of Cherries being mired in a sticky patch.

And any match preview at the time was not complete without mention of exactly how often the team was conceding three goals – eight times in 12 matches ahead of the trip to Goodison Park on February 4.

Oh, and Callum Wilson had suffered a season-ending knee injury days before the game.

Everton led inside 30 seconds and Cherries were three down after half-an-hour. Make no mistake, this was in danger of becoming a right old shellacking.

But Howe made two half-time changes – and, once more, in the most trying of circumstances, Cherries showed their mettle. Joshua King scored twice to scare the life out of Everton and the formerly euphoric locals.

They were painfully close to hauling themselves level before the home team ultimately pulled away to win 6-3.

No matter, by stubbornly, bravely refusing to chuck in the towel, Cherries had struck a light back under their season, even if it didn’t immediately ignite. King making a decent fist of the striking role was a boon, too.

This narrative will have rung a bell with all those who lived and breathed the club’s first Premier League season.

Howe’s side went to Southampton in the 11th game of that campaign, having won two of the first 10 and let in five goals in both their previous two matches.

Saints stormed into a 2-0 half-time lead and anybody watching a one-sided game unfold would have been tempted to write off Cherries as certainties for the drop.

But Howe made two substitutions and Cherries were transformed, albeit the scoreline remained unaltered.

They actually lost the following week, unluckily against Newcastle. But the die had been cast at St Mary’s and Howe’s team was soon embarking on a six-match unbeaten run.

It was Manchester City and West Bromwich dishing out some pretty rough justice to Cherries following the match at Everton.

But their determination to grasp the shoots of recovery planted on Merseyside led to them plucking a precious point from their visit to Manchester United, despite being a man down for the entire second half.

Howe, whey-faced due to the effects of a sickness bug, slung his water bottle to the ground when the full-time whistle sounded on the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.

If that act spoke of the manager’s overwhelming relief, the subsequent 11 matches will surely have left him harbouring an enormous sense of satisfaction.

Cherries have lost only twice – against Chelsea and Tottenham – and soared up the table, all while pulling down the shutters at the back. The commitment to attack, led by the revitalised King, has remained steadfast.

Howe’s men, in fact, were cocking a snook at their doubters as far back as September. The increasingly audible mumblings about ‘second-season syndrome’ following a winless three-game start were quelled by a 1-0 win over West Bromwich.

Nevertheless, a 4-0 loss at Manchester City, and Championship team Preston’s subsequent EFL Cup victory at Vitality Stadium combined to send the naysayers rushing to judgement.

Cherries’ delicious riposte came in the shape of a productive four-match spell that featured two performances Howe considered among the campaign’s finest: a 1-0 triumph over Everton and the high-octane scoreless draw with Spurs.

Back when Eddie was still dreaming, the en vogue terrace tune of the day included the verse; ’17 points, we don’t care too much, we’re AFC Bournemouth and we’re staying up’.

The language, in truth, was a bit fruitier. Nonetheless, the sentiment was clear.

Nobody was going to push this club around. That spirit hasn’t merely survived Cherries’ rise, it has sustained it. To the point where they are the ninth best team in England.