EDDIE Howe hailed the quality of Dan Gosling after the midfielder made a serious play for a Premier League starting spot against former club Everton.

The 26-year-old Gosling skippered a Cherries side featuring wholesale changes as Howe's men were dumped out of the EFL Cup by Preston.

And although the boss was largely disappointed by what he saw at Vitality Stadium, he was glowing in his praise for ex-Newcastle man Gosling, whose four Premier League appearances this season have all come from the bench.

Howe told the Daily Echo: "I thought Dan showed a terrific attitude and one huge positive to come from the game was his performance.

"He was energetic, showed good technical quality and scored a good goal. He kept running throughout the 120 minutes.

"He never slowed for a second so I thought he was very impressive.”

Howe nevertheless admitted Gosling had a fight on his hands to nail down a spot in Cherries’ engine room.

"He would recognise there is a real battle for places and he had a huge role for us last season,” said Howe. “He didn't play in every game but he had a huge part to play in our season.

"I think that will be the same this season. He is a very important player. He brings an energy and work rate to the midfield which we will need.

"He's a very dependable character, a very good personality and a very positive person. He has been excellent since he's been out of the team in terms of his mindset.”

After scoring Cherries’ second goal and delivering a characteristically indefatigable performance, Gosling admitted he was in the dark as to whether his manager would consider starting him against old club tomorrow (3pm).

“You’ll probably have to ask him (Howe) that question,” said Gosling. “Am I happy with my performance? Yes I’d probably say so. Could I have done more? I don’t know.”

Gosling, who started 28 of Cherries’ top-flight games last term, acknowledged the depth of quality at Howe’s disposal made regular football tough to come by at Vitality Stadium.

He said: “There is competition in every position. We have players we’ve brought in who are not even making the bench. It’s a big squad and a tough team to get into. But competition brings the best out of everybody.”

Uppermost in the player’s mind, however, is his team’s need for a positive result against Everton, in the light of a disappointing week.

It was against the same opponents last season that Cherries summoned a stirring late fightback to snatch a point from a 3-3 draw, a result that paved the way for back-to back victories over Chelsea and Manchester United.

“We definitely need something from the game,” said Gosling. “We don’t want three defeats in a row. Everton was the turning point in our season last year, that comeback.

"We’re looking to win the game as always. And we need to improve our home form because last season it wasn’t good enough.”