Cherries star Shaun MacDonald has welcomed added competition for places and knows there will be no room for complacency in Paul Groves’s squad.

MacDonald severed ties with Swansea after realising his chances would be limited with his hometown club following their promotion to the Premier League 12 months ago.

The 24-year-old, who was restricted to 22 league starts during an injury-interrupted first season with Cherries, is one of no fewer than nine midfielders on the books at Dean Court.

And the man who was nicknamed Zidane by his former Swansea team-mates is determined to ensure his will be one of the names at the top of the list when Groves selects his first starting line-up.

MacDonald told the Daily Echo: “There is fierce competition for places all over the pitch, not just in midfield. Nobody is guaranteed to be playing every week and it will be up to us to do as well as we can in every game.

“Players who think they should be in the team have got to show it and show their ability when they are on the pitch. I am one of those players who wants to play every game. I came here to enjoy my football and I know the club plays the right way.

“I have been at a Premier League club and it was a similar situation there where we had more or less two really good teams in one squad. When you are up against the other player in training, you want to do as well as you can and that can only be good for the manager.

“There are going to be players who might think they should be in the team that won’t be. It will be down to the manager.”