JUBILANT Steve Cook believes Cherries can now attract the best players in the world after the penning the latest chapter in their incredible story.

Under Eddie Howe's guidance over two separate spells, the Dorset club have risen from the depths of League Two to ninth place in the top flight in little more than eight years.

Centre-half Cook has been with Cherries since their League One days and has seen the club's clout in the transfer market increase with every step up the English football ladder.

And after helping Cherries seal a top-half finish courtesy of a 1-1 draw at Leicester City on Sunday, the 26-year-old feels his team have the tools with which to recruit the globe's top talent.

Cook told the Daily Echo: "Finishing ninth is a huge achievement for the lads and everyone associated with the club. It shouldn't be underestimated. We have gone a little bit under the radar but it's an unbelievable achievement.

"Last year, we got a lot of plaudits for staying up but this year puts us up by a mile, finishing in the top half of the toughest league in the world is incredible for a club of our size.

"How quickly we've managed to do that is really special. Now we will be questioned and expected to do similar in years to come and I'm sure we will be able to manage that.

"The club is in a great position to attract the best players in the world. Bournemouth, as a place, can attract whoever because it is a lovely place to live. The club is growing and one thing which will work in our favour is that, hopefully, in years to come we will see a bigger stadium.

"I'm sure the project of this club and its stature will attract better players.

"We have a great team and a great bunch of lads. I'm sure the manager will have his targets to fit in with our group."

Cherries' meteoric rise has been one of the English game's standout narratives in recent years. The efforts of Howe's men this term followed a 16th-place finish in the club's inaugural Premier League season, following Championship title glory the previous campaign.

Above Cherries in the end-of-season top-flight table lie a raft of clubs whose sky-high budgets and enormous fan bases are the envy of many.

But despite the considerable muscle Cherries are up against, Cook insists his team's upward trajectory can continue.

The defender, who won the Daily Echo-Micky Cave player-of-the-year award for this season, added: "I don't see it stopping. The way the owners and the manager have gone about their business over recent years has been incredible.

"The plans in place show this club can keep growing. I think we can finish higher than ninth next year. That's the plan.

"The club is really going places and I think it can become a very strong force in English football."