MARC Pugh has fired a warning to League One’s big guns: Little Bournemouth are no pushover.

Cherries last week sprung a surprise on former Championship high-fliers Preston North End when they won 3-1 at Deepdale And Lee Bradbury’s men will come face-to-face with another of the second tier’s fallen giants when Scunthorpe visit Seward Stadium tomorrow (3pm).

Pugh was on target as Cherries cut Phil Brown’s outfit down to size on their own patch last weekend.

And despite Cherries so nearly reaching the League One play-off final last season, the club’s leading goalscorer still believes the League One big boys anticipate an easy ride when they line up against the Dorset club Pugh, who has scored eight goals in all competitions this term, told the Echo: “Preston are such a big club for League One and they have a great fan base, but when a team like Bournemouth, who were struggling in League Two and in administration only a couple of years ago, come to clubs like that and win, it shows how far we have come.

“I think teams like Scunthorpe and Preston know we always give 100 per cent, but they will also know we have been poor on a couple of occasions this season.

“These big clubs have a lot of quality and I’m sure they sometimes think they can play a club like Bournemouth and just turn them over. But it doesn’t work like that. There are no easy games in League One now and we are no different to any other club. We have the quality to do really well, I really believe that.”

Cherries’ home form has been in stark contrast to their results on the road, with Bradbury’s side having mustered just one league win on home turf all season – a 2-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday on August 13.

On their travels, however, Bradbury’s men remain unbeaten in six following last weekend’s impressive triumph in Lancashire.

Pugh added: “We all fight for the shirt and it’s a big game against Scunthorpe. We need to put our home form right.

“I’ve heard Scunthorpe have been a bit unlucky and have been playing well. It’s a fine line between success and failure in this league and we need to turn our draws into wins and our defeats into draws at the very least.

“One more win could see us go up three or four places because it’s so tight.

“As players, the home form is in the backs of our minds, of course, but you have to go out there and express yourself and try not to worry about what people think.

“Fans pay the money and we need to show them we are a good team by making Dean Court a fortress like we did last season.”