DEFENDER Steve Cook insists in-form Cherries can commandeer a top-two place in the Championship – provided they keep turning on the style.

Four wins from five league matches have catapulted Eddie Howe’s men through a congested table to within a point of play-off places and just five shy of trailblazers Derby County.

Assessing the season ahead of tomorrow’s trip to managerless strugglers Birmingham, Cook argued that the table-topping Rams had been the only team to outplay Cherries in their 13 league fixtures to date.

The Dean Court outfit are now priced as short as 4-1 for promotion to the Premier League and based on the first quarter of the campaign, the star centre-half sees no reason to settle for a play-off place.

Cook, who has been ever-present in the Championship this season, told the Daily Echo: “There have been a few disappointments but in the past three or four games we have been terrific defensively and sharp going forward. We always look like we’re going to score.

“We want to be crowd pleasers as well. We want the supporters to turn up in numbers and they don’t spend their hard-earned money to come and watch boring football.

"The manager drills into us the importance of playing the right way, not only to win games but to attract sell-out crowds and push the club forward.

“Every season has its highs and lows and we have had a few already but we’re in a great position to kick on now.

“We don’t want to settle for where we are or even the play-offs because we feel we’re one of the best sides in this league. We want to be up there.

“Apart from the Derby, I don’t think anyone has outplayed us. Maybe they’ll go on to win the league and, hopefully, we’ll be just behind them.

"If you don’t aim high you’ll look back and wonder what might have been, so why not?”

Cherries’ hot streak has coincided with a run of four clean sheets in six matches in all competitions and Cook argued the shutouts had given the whole team a lift.

He added: “We work extremely hard on the training pitch so it’s nice to get the rewards. Even when we’re not at our best with the ball, with our solid back five we’re looking more comfortable when defending situations.

“If we keep a clean sheet then we stand a good chance of winning the game because we always create chances and that’s a real positive.

"We’ve had two on the bounce now and hopefully we can get another one at Birmingham.”