FORMER Dean Court hotshot Mark Stein insists Matt Tubbs will continue his prolific goalscoring exploits in League One with Cherries.

The ex-Cherries favourite, now physio at Crawley Town, worked closely with Tubbs during their time together with the Red Devils.

Tubbs regularly sought advice from Stein as he earned a reputation as an ace marksman in the lower divisions.

The Verwood-raised striker notched 40 goals in 47 appearances last season and netted 18 times for the League Two promotion hopefuls this term before becoming Cherries’ record signing.

Tubbs’s CV persuaded Cherries boss Lee Bradbury to pay a big-money package, understood to have been worth up to £800,000, for his signature.

The 27-year-old, who had previously been on loan with Cherries under Jimmy Quinn, scored in an impressive debut display against Exeter before failing to find the net in Cherries’ past three matches.

But Stein, leading goalscorer in his two full seasons in Dorset, is adamant Tubbs will justify Bradbury’s faith.

He told the Daily Echo: “He is hard-working in games and in training and even when he has been through a barren spell, he has always put his neck on the line, which has stood him in good stead.

“That is the biggest reason why he has scored so many goals – because he is not frightened to miss.

“I think Lee Bradbury has done some great business in getting Tubbsy because he is a goalscorer and they are like gold dust.

“You don’t get as many chances the higher you go so that means you need to be more clinical.

“For the likes of Tubbsy, he came into it quite late and when you watch him train and play, he trains and plays like it could be his last game.

“I think because he wasn’t as successful when he was younger, it has given him that much more hunger.

“He has had to drop down and come back up that way and he is making the most of it.

“Like any striker, he can go through barren spells. But the most important thing is that Tubbsy is getting in there because your hard work and perseverance will pay off.

“He did that at Crawley and I have got no doubts he will go to Bournemouth and score a lot more goals.

“He is playing at a higher standard and he has to up his game, but I think Tubbsy can do it.”

Stein knows all about playing with a big price-tag on your head – having moved to Chelsea for £1.5million during his distinguished career.

He added: “It is a pressure. When I went to Chelsea, all of a sudden people were expecting goals straight away. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t.

“Tubbsy has gone to his home-town club and the good thing was he scored in his first game. Hopefully, that will have settled him down and given him the confidence to know that he can score goals at that level.

“Given the chances, he will always get goals.”