CAPTAIN Tommy Elphick offered a public vote of thanks to Cherries supporters and expressed his disappointment for those unable to attend tonight’s restaging of the Manchester United game.

Elphick said: “It was a chain of events you never expect to happen. I know our supporters had made such an effort, both financially and in terms of time, to travel to Manchester from Bournemouth.

“We could see and hear them when we walked out for the warm-up and our corner of the ground was packed.

“It should have been an exciting day for them and us. We went into the game with our Premier League status assured and it should have been a time to celebrate.

“It is so disappointing and all the players feel for them. It is not going to happen for most of them now because we know how difficult it can be for them to get time off and travel in midweek. We were aware this was a game lots of fans did not want to miss and our thoughts go out to those who will be unable to come back.”

Discussing the chain of events, Elphick added: “It was business as usual in the lead up to the game. We arrived at the ground at the normal time and all went through our routines ready for the warm-up.

“Just as we were getting ready to do our final piece of the warm up, referee Jon Moss, who was superb with the way he kept us posted, said we needed to get inside as there had been a code red security alert.

“It didn’t really hit home what was going on and we just tried to relax and get a bit of food or coffee down us to keep our bodies prepared.

“We then heard the game had been abandoned because a suspect package had been found. You start to hear different stories but the message we got was that the safest place would be the dressing room.

“I must credit Manchester United and all the security staff who looked after us because they were first class.

“For the lads, our first concern was with our families. You want to make sure they are okay and away from the stadium.

“When you hear an announcement like that, it is concerning because you can imagine everyone is trying to us their phone and not many have signal.

“It was a relief once I had got the message my family and friends were away from the stadium. I was much calmer.

“The world is such a sad place that we have to fear things when we go to watch a sporting event. Everybody dealt with the situation very well so all credit to them for that.”