BOSS Eddie Howe believes Cherries' pre-season campaign already has a "better feel" than 12 months ago.

Howe was speaking after Cherries had kicked off their warm-up friendlies with a lively 1-1 draw against Sevilla at La Manga Club last night.

The La Liga outfit opened the scoring through Wissam Ben Yedder after 25 minutes before Jordon Ibe levelled in the 68th minute.

Howe used 22 players during the contest and handed a debut to new signing David Brooks, Cherries' £10million addition from Sheffield United.

And although not totally satisfied with Cherries' first-half showing, Howe was delighted with their display after the break.

He told AFCBTV: "It was a really good test. We wanted a tougher pre-season this year and I think that game was evident of what we were after.

"It was a tough and really quick game. I was really pleased with the players, especially in the second half when I thought we gave a really good account of ourselves.

"It got quite tense at the end and a lot of tackles (were being made) but the will to win is really strong in the squad and I was pleased to see that element of it come out.

"We have developed the group in such a way where everything we do in training is geared to winning. It is such an important thing, you can't switch it on and off and I don’t want them to.

"Although there are no points at stake, there is still pride at stake and everyone is vying for positions to get into the team.

"You are trying to create a winning mentality and I thought that was evident. I was really impressed with the way we came back from the difficult position we had put ourselves in.

"The second-half display was everything I want to see the team delivering. We were really good with the ball and had a high intensity and pressed off it.

"Fitness-wise, I thought we looked really strong. We have worked well and it was no surprise. I was confident we would deliver a good performance, physically."

Howe has put together an exacting series of pre-season friendlies in a bid to help Cherries make a fast start to their Premier League campaign.

He felt their preparation last season had been adversely affected by playing lower-league opposition with Cherries going on to lose their first four games in the top flight.

Asked how pre-season had gone so far, Howe replied: "I have been really pleased and have to say it has a better feel than last year in my opinion.

"Individually, there are players performing at a really high level who maybe weren’t doing so this time last year.

"The training has been everything that I want it to be and the facilities here are really good. Their attitude to the gym sessions has been high class and I can't fault anyone.

"One or two players would have been disappointed with their performances, especially during the first period when I thought we could have performed better but there is always going to be stuff you can improve during pre-season."