TEARY-eyed chairman Jeff Mostyn revealed how Matt Ritchie’s shower of booze had helped hide his emotions as Cherries all but sealed Premier League status.

The Dean Court figurehead unashamedly admitted to shedding “a tear or two” when the shrill blast of referee Simon Hooper’s whistle ended Cherries’ consummate 3-0 triumph over Bolton.

Mostyn, who financed the club’s administration in 2008 and returned to the chair under owner Maxim Demin in Septmeber 2013, cited the “siege mentality” harnessed during the dark days as the backbone of their historic rise to English football’s top flight.

And with a three-point cushion over third-placed Middlesbrough plus a whopping advantage of 19 on goal difference going into the last day at Charlton Athletic on Saturday, the FA Council member simply could not hold back the waterworks. 

Mostyn told the Daily Echo: “I shed a tear or two at the end. Matt (Ritchie) poured a bottle of champagne over me and I think that hid some of my emotion immediately afterwards.

“As anyone who knows me would testify, I am one of the most emotional people on God has ever placed on this earth and I am sure when the reality hits and I am at home with my family I will shed a few more tears.

“It is very hard to give an immediate reaction. Had you asked me what would happen over the course of a season I could probably have come up with some incredible scenarios but the reality of having reached the Premier League remains hard to accept.

“My involvement over the past eight years has been the most incredible journey and I am very grateful for the support we have received, particularly through the dark days.

“You often need support when things aren’t going so well as opposed to when everything is fine.

“Now, we have arrived at the pinnacle of English football, some would say the pinnacle of world football.

“For us to be able to compete with the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea still feels like a dream but it is a reality and I am actually lost for words!”

Asked whether he had ever dared to dream of top-flight status when Cherries hit rock bottom seven years ago, Mostyn replied: “How could you? It was all about survival.

“We couldn’t afford a first-class postage stamp in those days, let alone a footballer. We had a transfer embargo and that created a siege mentality.

“I am a great believer in looking back at history and that mentality has carried right forward to where we are today.

“For a team competing against clubs with huge budgets, it took an amazing team of footballers and huge amount of managerial skill and nous to get us in that top two.

“We learned how to fight and survive. Back then we had an inner sanctum that was like the three musketeers, all for one and one for all, and that has stayed with us. I am so proud of what we have achieved and the manner in which we have achieved it.

“Together anything is possible is our strapline and nothing epitomises that more than what we saw against Bolton.

“We all owe a massive thank you to Maxim Demin, our chief executive Neill Blake and a first-class management team headed up by Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall.

"Between them, they have pushed the club beyond any point I could have done.”