FORMER Cherries skipper Simon Francis said Dan Gosling had taken confidence from a day previously to get on the scoresheet twice at Coventry – having watched him rifle the ball home in training.

The former Everton midfielder netted a second-half brace at St Andrew’s to seal a 3-1 victory for Jason Tindall’s men.

Gosling pounced in the box to put Cherries 2-1 up after 51 minutes in the midlands.

His second goal was a driving run from midfield before striking a sublime effort home from 25 yards.

And, speaking as a pundit for Sky Sports, Francis admitted he had seen Gosling fire on the training ground ahead of the clash.

“You take that confidence from the day before the game into a matchday, he certainly did that,” said the former Cherries defender.

“I watched a little bit of training on Thursday and he was rifling them in. He was definitely confident.

“He had the ability with Lewis Cook sitting deeper than him, to bomb on and make the box. He certainly did that with the second and then the third goal for Bournemouth.

“He drove forward and hit the ball really well.”

Gosling’s brace was his first two-goal salvo since netting twice against Cardiff in September 2014.

Speaking about his second goal, the Brixham-born star said: “I was quite far out and I didn’t know whether to keep driving or slip Sam (Surridge) in.

“I thought I would just have a crack and thankfully it was past the keeper.”

He added: “Ten points from 12 is a great start. We will have a break now and move on to the next game.”