CHERRIES boss Eddie Howe has challenged his players to raise the bar even further as they look to keep the heat on their rivals during the run-in.

Howe was speaking after Cherries had regained pole position in the Championship thanks to a 4-0 win over rock-bottom Blackpool on Saturday.

Victory, Cherries’ third in a row, saw Howe’s class of 2015 pass last season’s club record points haul in the second flight – with nine games to go.

Brett Pitman’s first-half hat-trick paved the way for Cherries to hit 69 points before Callum Wilson completed the scoring with a 49th-minute penalty.

Asked by the Daily Echo whether the rate of Cherries’ improvement had surprised him, Howe replied: “Yes, it has. I don’t think we expected to see the rapid improvement that we have this season.

“We believed in the players and in our ways of working. The league table and the number of goals we have scored is testament to just how well the players have done so far.

“We have scored more goals than last season and improved defensively as well. That is a really good combination and it is important to improve in both areas.

“It is a really good sign that last season’s points tally has been broken with nine games to go. But now we want more. We have to set the bar higher and continue to improve even further.”

Cherries justified the bookmakers’ pre-match odds with Pitman giving them the ideal start when he opened the scoring with a fine individual goal after 10 minutes.

Pitman doubled Cherries’ lead when he registered his 100th career goal for the club before completing the perfect hat-trick – left foot, right foot, header – with a 40th-minute strike.

Howe added: “We were aware there was pressure on the team as we had been expected to win. It is never easy when that is the case but I thought the players were very professional in their approach. We scored some good goals and it was quite comfortable in the end.

“We are well aware of the importance of goal difference. The most important thing was to win and we certainly didn’t underestimate the size of the challenge. Blackpool gave it a right go and didn’t give up so credit to them for that.

“But we were hunting goals, we wanted more and that has been the hallmark of the team. We weren’t satisfied with four and were slightly disappointed we didn’t create a bit more in the second half. But, overall, it was another good win and another precious three points.”