CHARLIE Daniels admitted becoming a father for the first time and helping Cherries maintain their Championship challenge had been a great experience and tough going.

Defender Daniels made his 100th appearance for the club at Middlesbrough on Saturday just three days after his fiancée Carly had given birth to their son Teddy.

The 26-year-old had hot-footed it home from Hillsborough in the early hours of Wednesday to attend the birth at the Haven Suite at Poole Hospital later that day.

Excused from training on Thursday, Daniels headed to Teesside on Friday and played his part as Cherries and Boro battled out an entertaining 0-0 draw at the Riverside.

Daniels told the Daily Echo: “It was a massive week in my life and I feel very privileged to have become a father for the first time because it was a great experience.

“It was tough as well. I didn’t get back from Sheffield until 3am and was up early to go to the hospital where I stayed until Thursday afternoon.

“I was very fortunate to have a good night’s sleep so felt refreshed on Friday and travelled up to start preparing for the game.”

Daniels, who turned in another assured display at left-back, earned both praise and congratulations from Cherries boss Eddie Howe, himself a father of two young boys.

Howe told the Daily Echo: “It was a big moment in his life and great for him and his family. Everybody connected with the club would like to congratulate them.

“Charlie has been excellent for us for a long period of time and is a very popular member of the squad. Becoming a father will give him some sleepless nights!

“His form of late has been very strong and he has been a really big part of our success. Despite what would have been a tiring time for him, his performance against Middlesbrough didn’t suffer at all and that is great credit to him.”

When informed of his 100th appearance milestone by the Daily Echo, Daniels said: “I didn’t know it was today but knew it was close. It is pleasing. I am in the last year of my contract but, hopefully, there will be many more. Nothing has been said yet but I love the club, the way we are going and the way we play.”

He added: “It was a very good display against Middlesbrough, especially after the first 15 to 20 minutes. We knew they would come at us and had to be very resilient.

“After that, I thought we grew into the game and had the best chances. It was a game of few chances but I thought we had the best of them and felt we limited them to shots outside the box. All in all, a draw was probably fair.”