BOSS Eddie Howe saw Cherries bring down the curtain on another rollercoaster Premier League campaign before insisting his team could hit greater heights next season.

A dramatic 2-1 win at Burnley on the final day meant Cherries finished 12th in the standings, making it the second most successful season in club history.

Not for the first time this campaign, Howe’s men did it the hard way at Turf Moor, with goals from Joshua King and Callum Wilson completing a terrific comeback victory after the visitors had fallen behind to Chris Wood’s first-half opener.

Howe said: “It was a great way to finish. It was a difficult first half and I thought Burnley made it difficult with how they play.

“For me, what changed the game was the substitutes – Dan Gosling, Jermain Defoe and Callum Wilson – I thought they had a big impact and really did inspire us.

“When we put it together and play well, we are a really tough team to play against.

“Of course, the difficulty in this league is finding that consistency. It eluded us at the start of the campaign and we gave ourselves a lot to do but, thankfully, since Christmas we have been very good.

“If you look at our form from then onwards, we would be towards the top end of the table.

“I think we leave the season with a really good feeling, knowing we can still do better and, hopefully, achieve great things next season.

“The feeling we are expected to finish in the top half of the Premier League and not expected to struggle, that can weigh heavy at times if you are not performing well, which we weren’t early in the season.

“I think we dealt with it pretty well and, hopefully, we are stronger for that experience. We know the signs to look for if it happens again.”

Howe confirmed Tyrone Mings – making his first start since September – had been substituted in the second half as a precautionary measure.

Mings, who returned from a serious knee injury in the home win over Swansea City, appeared to have jarred the joint midway through the second half while attempting to nullify a Clarets attack.

Midfielder Lewis Cook was left out of the squad altogether, a matter of days before England boss Gareth Southgate names his 23-man squad for this summer’s World Cup in Russia.

Asked if England international Cook had not been selected in anticipation of a busy summer ahead, Howe admitted that had been the case.

The manager added: “He has had a lot of games, a lot of exposure and a lot of pressure placed upon him.

“We wanted him to be free of that for a bit longer so we sent him away – he’s abroad to try to make sure he doesn’t suffer burnout at a later stage, maybe next season.

“We’re trying to manage his game load.”

Captain Simon Francis also missed out on a spot in the squad, this time due to illness, so Andrew Surman donned the armband in his absence.