TOMMY Elphick set his sights on a head-to-head with Chelsea star John Terry after the fixtures for Cherries' inaugural Premier League season had been released.

Cherries are due to clash with Jose Mourinho's side at Stamford Bridge on December 5 and Elphick is keen to pit his wits against fellow centre-half Terry, a player he has long admired.

The Blues skipper, 34, did not miss a single minute of Chelsea's title-winning season last term and was named in the Professional Footballers' Association's Premier League team of the year.

Terry, who has captained Chelsea more than 500 times, also scored the opening goal in the 2-0 League Cup final victory over Tottenham.

While Cherries are set to take on a raft of big guns over the coming months, the Chelsea clash is one of a handful of fixtures that Elphick is particularly looking forward to.

And the ex-Brighton man insisted he would be the first to volunteer to mark former England international Terry at set-pieces.

Elphick told the Daily Echo: "I think you have to put your hand up for that. He's the highest-scoring defender in Premier League history so it's a big responsibility to mark him.

"None of us can shirk away from defending at set-pieces and when the Chelsea game comes, the gaffer will be the judge of who is best to play against him.

"To be on the same pitch as the likes of John Terry and all the other top players is what we all worked so hard for and the Chelsea game is one that I would take a lot of joy from being involved in, if selected.

"Terry is such a whole-hearted leader and huge character that sometimes how good he is can be lost. He's two-footed, can hit a 60-yard pass with his left or right foot and is as composed as they come.

"For any centre-half, especially if you're not the quickest or the tallest, he's the ideal person to look at and take inspiration from. You can't look further than him.

"Certain things have tarred his reputation and I imagine that if he could go back he would change some things but on the pitch he's a like a fine wine – he's just getting better and better."

Despite the release of Cherries' league fixtures for the upcoming campaign, Elphick insists that the reality of top-flight football is yet to dawn on him and his team-mates.

He added: "I still don't think that our involvement in the Premier League has really hit home yet. I don't think that will happen until the first day of training.

"But this is a huge time for us and anyone who has helped the club to improve from where we were should take huge pride in seeing who we are up against now.

"Now that the fixtures are out, we can start looking at ways that we can be competitive in the league."