BOSS Eddie Howe is keen for supporters to keep expectations in check after Cherries turned in another impressive display against loftier opposition.

Howe’s charges maintained their decent vein of pre-season form when they held Premier League Fulham to a 0-0 draw at Dean Court on Tuesday.

But with his resources stretched, Howe was again forced to field a number of trialists and knows he needs to strengthen ahead of Cherries’ League Two opener at Bury.

Howe told the Daily Echo: “We believe in ourselves but the players are realistic and we are all level headed enough to know there is still a long way to go.

“Everybody needs to be realistic because the squad is wafer thin. The bench against Fulham included only three of four players we can use against Bury and we had Alton Thelwell, who’s not our player, at right-back.

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“There are areas of concern and we have a few injuries at the moment so we need to be cautious. We need cover in certain positions because you can’t go into a season with just one player in every position.

“We are still some way short and there is still a lot of work to be done. We’ve still got two-and-a-half weeks’ training and anything can happen in that time so we’re keeping our feet firmly on the floor.”

Howe added: “I was pleased with the performance against Fulham. I thought we were better in the second half than we were in the first because we kept the ball better. We were a little too direct early on and probably not good enough on the ball.

“There is plenty to improve on and I still think we can do a lot better. In saying that, we held a Premier League team at home so that can only be a good thing.”