DANNY Higginbotham insisted Asmir Begovic would not be fazed by errors made against Chelsea and said his "mentally tough" former team-mate had the grit to bounce back against Newcastle United.

One of Cherries' most consistent performers this season, Bosnian goalkeeper Begovic endured a mixed night in the defeat to the Blues last Saturday.

The 30-year-old's scuffed clearance nearly resulted in Alvaro Morata opening the scoring, while early in the second period he was beaten at his near post by an angled strike from Eden Hazard, which proved the match-winner.

However, in between Begovic made a superb first-half stop to deny £60million star Morata and keep the scores locked at 0-0.

Higginbotham – now a respected pundit – played alongside Begovic for three years at Stoke City. And he believes the stopper's mental steel will allow him to quickly move on ahead of Cherries' trip to Tyneside on Saturday (3pm).

The former Southampton and Sunderland defender told the Daily Echo: "Asmir is very strong mentally.

"You need that to be a goalkeeper because in that position, you are the last line of defence and if you make a mistake, the ball can end up in the back of your net and those moments get magnified.

"I don't think it will be an issue for Asmir whatsoever. It won't faze him because he is very mentally tough.

"I found him great in the dressing room. He was an organiser and his desire to improve constantly was a standout element of his character. He wanted to be the best he could be and he went from strength to strength at Stoke.

"Asmir wasn't afraid to give his opinions to defenders, which is what you want.

"He's a very good goalkeeper. He is commanding and is a leader and a communicator, so he has all the ingredients to keep improving and given the type of lad he is, he will want to do that. That's a fantastic strength to have."

Begovic is one of two Cherries players yet to miss a minute of action in the Premier League this season – the other being left-back Charlie Daniels.

And the summer signing "has had a very good start to his career here", according to Vitality Stadium boss Eddie Howe.

Meanwhile, Cherries midfielder Lewis Cook has underlined the importance of picking up points over the next month.

The Dorset club, 19th in the top flight, follow their fixture at Newcastle with games against Huddersfield, Swansea and Burnley.

Cook said: "Any game in the Premier League is winnable, you just have to be on top form.

"There's no easy games in the Prem but it's important we get as many points as we can in this run of games.

"A few wins could get us up into mid-table and we have to give it everything."