CHERRIES boss Eddie Howe believes up-and-coming defender Baily Cargill must strike “a delicate balance” in order to take his game to the next level.

The 19-year-old, who yesterday penned a fresh two-and-a-half-year deal at Dean Court, has started in League Cup triumphs against Exeter, Northampton and Cardiff and is in contention to feature against Premier League West Brom in the fourth round tonight (7.45pm).

With four-and-a-half hours of game time in his locker, Cargill has yet to taste defeat or even concede a goal in a Cherries shirt alongside three different central defensive partners - Elliott Ward, Steve Cook and Tommy Elphick.

And while Howe has been impressed with Cargill’s displays, he stressed that the former Torquay and Welling loanee had plenty of hard work to put in before he could unleash his full potential.

Howe told the Daily Echo: “We aren’t surprised by the way Baily is performing because we see him every day in training and have worked with him for a long time.

“He reads the game very well for a young lad and looks very relaxed on the pitch, with a controlled manner and a good demeanour. For a footballing centre-half, that’s a very good thing to have.

“He’s technically very good so on those sides of the game I don’t think there are any issues at all.

“There are things he has to improve on – as there are with any player – and we’re doing that behind the scenes.

“He needs to make sure he has an aggression to his game while keeping his composure on the ball, which is a very delicate balance.”

Cargill has yet to make his league debut for Cherries, although he was on the bench for defeats to Nottingham Forest and Blackburn in August.

And while Howe admitted that the League Cup and the Championship were “different”, he backed the youngster to adapt to the demands of the second tier.

Howe continued: “Baily’s next challenge is to transfer his performances into the Championship with the atmosphere and the pressures that those games involve, but I’ve got no doubt he can rise to the challenge.

“I think they are different games. At Cardiff, for example, it was a small crowd in a big stadium. I think Championship games do have a different feel about them.

“But when the game kicks off it’s 11 versus 11 and the game is what it is. Knowing his temperament as I do, I don't think there will be a problem.