CO-OWNER Steve Sly anticipates Cherries will top last season's sale of season tickets.

Sly says business has been brisk in the Bourne Red club shop with sales on target to eclipse last season's total of around 2,600.

And although season tickets went on general sale on Monday, more than 1,900 had already been snapped up by existing holders before the end of last month.

The total is expected to pass the 2,000-mark before the end of this week - with the ticket office reporting a considerable number of sales to new faces.

Sly is convinced Cherries are reaping the rewards having reduced the cost of season ticket prices just days after the new owners had taken control in March. And he also believes long-standing supporters and new fans alike are "excited" at the prospect of the rising of a new dawn at Dean Court.

Sly, himself a lifelong Cherries supporter, told the Daily Echo: "Early indications are that we will exceed last season's season ticket sales. So far, we have sold more than at the same time last year, even though we have had a shorter window of opportunity because we didn't launch them until the third week of March.

"Making wholesale reductions on prices in most areas of the ground has helped, while there seems to be a lot more excitement around the stadium due to the expectancy of seeing new players.

"I think people are anticipating a much more promising season on the pitch than we've had for the past couple of years and I know that's what we are all working towards."

Sly also feels the re-signing of popular defender Warren Cummings earlier this week was a significant step in the right direction for the club.

He added: "A lot of hard work went into signing Warren. The chairman virtually followed his agent halfway across Europe to secure his signature and that has emphasised our determination.

"His signing was just another clear indication of how we're going to go forward with this football club and what we intend to do.

"We sent out a message to the fans last week saying we would pull out all the stops to keep him and we did that after fighting off some tough competition."