EDDIE Howe believes the pressure of the Championship play-offs will be “great” for Tyrone Mings’s education – and says he will discuss the defender’s “next step” at the end of the season.

Cherries loanee Mings helped Aston Villa secure a fifth-place finish in the second tier and set up a play-off semi-final clash with rivals West Brom.

The 26-year-old has become a fans’ favourite at the Villains since the temporary switch to the Midlands in January.

He has made 15 appearances for Dean Smith’s side, who went on a 10-game winning run in March and April to storm into the top six.

Mings on Saturday could feature in the first leg of the West Brom tie at Villa Park (12.30pm).

Asked what the Bath-born ace could learn from the play-off experience, Howe told the Daily Echo: “These are games as a footballer you want to be involved in and you are desperate to experience.

“It will be great for Tyrone’s education to play in those games, to experience that kind of pressure – those games are some of the most pressured you would ever face because there is so much on them.

“It is great for his development here that he samples that and it will make him a better player.”

The centre-back signed a “long-term” contract with Cherries in September 2017, however, made just seven appearances for the Dorset club this season, most recently the 4-1 defeat against Manchester United on December 30.

Quizzed on whether Mings’s long-term future is at Vitality Stadium, Howe said: “I will sit down with Tyrone at the end of the season and we will discuss the next step.

“I have been in regular contact with him throughout his loan period. The most important thing now is he concentrates on Aston Villa and tries to help them get promotion and then we will see.”

Mings has suffered an injury-ravaged period since joining Cherries from Ipswich for £8million in June 2015.

He spent more than a year out after a serious knee injury six minutes into his Premier League debut against Leicester City in August 2015 before missing eight months of 2017-18 season following a stress fracture to his spine in the early stages of the campaign.

Howe admitted a consistent run of games for Villa had been important for Mings.

“That was the thing we all wanted, it is what Tyrone wanted and needed to do – play a run of games – and he has done that,” said Howe.

“He has performed very well. He has been a big part of the Villa team that have been on such a great run, so I am delighted for Tyrone that the loan has been so successful.”

Asked if Mings’s instant impact at Villa Park had been a surprise, Howe said: “I don’t think it surprised me because from the times we have worked with Tyrone, a long period of time now away from match action, he has had serious injuries here, but he has always battled back and shown a great mentality to that.

“He has delivered a lot of quality in his performances and a lot of improvement in his performances with us, so there is no doubting the level of player.”