CAPTAIN Tommy Elphick insists success-hungry Cherries will remain focused as they set about trying to bring up more memorable milestones.

Elphick led Cherries and was the only player to start both games as Eddie Howe’s men penned two new chapters in the Dean Court record books.

He played his part in the club’s biggest win in the Football League at Birmingham on Saturday and again as they reached the quarter-finals of the League Cup for the first time on Tuesday.

The two landmark victories came just days after Elphick had committed himself to the club by signing a new two-and-a-half year contract.

Asked by the Daily Echo whether it got any better than making history twice in four days, Elphick replied: “We have another bit of history to make by getting through the next round.

“The mentality of the manager and squad is such that after Saturday’s win, the only thing on our minds was trying to write more history on Tuesday.

“The most impressive thing about it was that we did it after making 10 changes. I know West Brom did the same and it was nice for me to keep my place and to be part of a team that set two new club records.

“The message before the game was that there were only three rounds to the final. We are not talking about a cup which is taken lightly, this is a serious competition. We have gone a long way but we want to keep progressing and moving forward.”

Elphick, who conceded a penalty at Birmingham which was saved by Artur Boruc, was credited with an unfortunate own goal as the Baggies cancelled out Eunan O’Kane’s opener before Callum Wilson came off the bench to save the day for Cherries.

“The atmosphere at the end was brilliant,” said Elphick. “We experienced ups and downs in the final few minutes but it showed the strength of the group. Callum came on, ran ragged the two centre-halves and came to the rescue.

“But it would have been very harsh if we hadn’t won. We played some really nice stuff, probably created the better chances and deserved to go through.

“There wasn’t much I could do about their goal. The lad’s shot took a deflection off Simon Francis and then hit me to wrong foot Lee Camp. It was frustrating because we had limited them to hardly any chances. There was a great sense of relief when Callum went straight up the other end and scored to put us through.

“You need people to bail you out and I have been fortunate that it has happened to me in the past couple of games. But I am a big believer that if you work hard, you get the luck you deserve. Any winning team needs a bit of luck. It is going for us at the moment and we need to continue the run.”