DEFENDER Nathan Ake hailed the character in the camp after Cherries had mounted yet another fightback.

Cherries came from a goal down to defeat lowly West Brom 2-1 at Vitality Stadium on Saturday, pushing the Dorset club into the top half of the Premier League and closer to survival.

Eddie Howe's men have picked up 16 points from losing positions this season – a league high.

Asked if the team always felt they could get back in matches, Ake said: "I think that's our character. Everyone knows when we are down we still haven’t lost the game.

"It’s a bit both ways – you don’t want to be down like that so that you have to come back but also we always believe, so it’s a good sign.

"Today we are relieved, for sure. We knew it was going to be difficult.

"West Brom were very compact in the first half and we didn't go through them. In the second half, we started slow and they scored.

"After that, they made it very complex and it was difficult so we were really happy to win the game.

"It was not one of the best games. At this stage of the season, the points are really important so it's better to be like this rather than playing fantastically and not winning. We take that positive.

"Sometimes we had to defend, especially at the end when they threw everything into the box and we did okay. We threw everything in front of the goal and luckily we won.

"Junior's free-kick was great skill from him. Every day he has been doing free-kicks in training so I'm really happy he did that for us today."

Lewis Cook celebrated his England call-up by getting another 90 minutes in a Cherries shirt.

Cook and his team-mates went into the break locked at 0-0 but Jay Rodriguez opened the scoring minutes into the second half, meaning Jordon Ibe's effort from distance and Junior Stanislas's late free-kick were required for victory.

Quizzed about Howe's message at half-time, Cook said: "He was calm and told us what we needed to do and how to improve it – keep sticking to the game plan and in the second half we delivered that.

"We were better on the ball and better off the ball and Jordon got his goal and Junior won the game so it was great for them.

"I think it was hard for West Brom (after Cherries equalised). After they scored they were really up for it and pressing us all over the pitch. But when we got the goal it deflated them a bit, we continued until the end and got the second goal."

Cook added: "We just need to focus on the next games and make sure we get the wins to cement our place. It is not over yet. We've got to keep working hard."