SIMON Francis wants boss Eddie Howe to stay with Cherries and "cement his legendary status" by guiding the club into European competition.

Francis will lead out his team at Leicester on Sunday with a top-10 Premier League finish up for grabs – a staggering achievement given the club's precarious position at the foot of League Two when Howe first took charge a little over eight years ago.

The captain is acutely aware his manager's work will be receiving admiring glances from elsewhere. Nevertheless, he is confident European football is "not too far off" for Cherries and believes Howe is thinking along similar lines.

Asked by the Daily Echo if he was concerned his boss would be a man in demand, Francis said: "Slightly, yes. I would be lying if I said ‘no’. The better we are doing, the better it looks for him.

"But I think he knows how well he is doing with this club and how far he can take us in the next few years.

"If we had scraped by and just stayed up in the past two seasons he might have thought it would be time for a new challenge. But I do not sense that with him at all.

"He loves coming in every day and loves working hard with the players. He wants to take this club as far as he can.

"He is already a legend at this club, so I would love him to cement that status over the next few years and take us as high as possible."

While Francis is desperate for Cherries to snaffle a top-half spot this weekend, he is already eyeing what the club can accomplish in the coming years.

And the defender, who has 33 Premier League appearances under his belt this term, expects Howe to trade in a high-quality transfer market this summer.

"I think we can compete with a lot of teams in mid-table, and above, to sign players now," said Francis. "Especially with the exciting football we play.

"I’m sure any player considering signing for us would know they would enjoy their football here. I think we’re a big club for players to look at in the summer, definitely.

"I don’t think European football is out of our reach. We have always asked, even in our League One days, 'can we keep improving every season'? We have done that, so far. That is not to say we will be challenging for the title in three or four years.

"But teams like Southampton have qualified for the Europa League. That is a step forward in the next few years and what the manager will want to look at.

"He's doing so well with us and I'm sure he would love to be involved in European football, as would the players.

"I’d love to play European football and I'm sure all the lads would say the same.

"As long as we keep improving under the manager, it's not too far off."