DAN Gosling admitted he had become “frustrated” by his bit-part role earlier this season – and is desperate to keep his place on centre stage.

Gosling played the full 90 minutes in back-to-back wins over West Ham and Swansea and was hailed as "outstanding" by boss Eddie Howe.

The former Everton man has been restricted to 11 starts this season, having featured in all but four games in Cherries' maiden Premier League campaign.

Gosling, who starred for 10-man Cherries after coming off the bench in the 1-1 draw at Manchester United, was delighted to be involved in successive win that saw them take huge strides towards getting out of the “mess” they were in.

He told the Daily Echo: “There have been a few times this season when I’ve played well but then missed out in the next game.

“That is frustrating for any footballer. Getting a run of games helps your confidence. I had a good game against West Ham and managed to keep my place.

“Hopefully, the team keeps winning and if I can be a part of that then great.

“We wanted to get out of the mess we were in and have gone some way to doing that.

“But we have a lot of hard work still to do.”

Should Gosling retain his place for Cherries’ trip to Southampton on April 1, it would represent only the second time this season he has started more than two consecutive games.

And the 27-year-old accepts he is embroiled in an ongoing battle to retain a spot in the Cherries engine room.

That situation has been driven home by the sight of England international Jack Wilshere having to settle for a place on the bench in Cherries’ past three matches.

“It’s been difficult for Jack in the past couple of weeks but the impact he’s had when he’s come off the bench has been brilliant,” said Gosling.

“The squad has improved and everyone is fighting for their place every week.

“Our team changes quite a lot. There are a lot of good players on the bench and a lot of good players not making the matchday squad.

“Jack came in, played a lot of games and was very good. But we changed our tactics slightly at Manchester United.

“We went with two strikers and had a great result, then we’ve backed that up brilliantly.”

Under boss Howe, Gosling started just one league game during Cherries' Championship-winning campaign before establishing himself as a regular in the Premier League last season.

Howe said: "Dan has been outstanding. When you consider we were down to 10 men in the second half against Manchester United, he came on and was brilliant in helping us protect our goal.

"He has used the ball really well in our past two games and has had a huge effect on the team."

Howe said he agreed with defender Steve Cook who had picked Gosling as the man he would want to climb Mount Everest with.

"If I were going to climb Everest, I would want Gozzo by my side as well," said Howe.

"He is that kind of character. He is a real team player, he is at his best every day in training and he wants to win. His running and his desire to win are infectious and I can’t speak highly enough of him."