CHERRIES star Jack Wilshere insisted he came to the Dorset club to fuel his love for football and added: “I want to play this game for as long as possible.”

Wilshere was snapped up by Cherries on a free transfer back in January on a deal until the end of the season, having previously cancelled his contract at West Ham.

He has since played nine times for the club in all competitions, finding the net against Crawley and Birmingham.

Midfielder Wilshere has a glittering CV which includes two FA Cup victories with Arsenal, as well as 34 senior England caps.

But asked when signing for Cherries whether he still feels he had things he wanted to achieve in his career, the 29-year-old said: “If I felt like I'd finished and I'd done everything I wanted in the game then I'd have called it a day when I left West Ham.

“I've been lucky enough to earn good money throughout my career, so I didn't need to come and play football.

“But my love for the game and being out of the game for three months, being at home, made me realise that I want to play this game for as long as possible. I love this game.

“It's part of my life. I think now I've come to Bournemouth it's a different challenge for me.

“I haven't played in the Championship, I haven't tried to be promoted. I've watched it every year from when I was a kid and it's obviously exciting.

“Probably if you'd asked me 10 years ago if it's something that I thought I'd ever be involved in, I would've said no.

“But now here I am and I'm focused and ready to give me all to try and win promotion.”

Wilshere rejoined Cherries having previously featured 27 times for the club in the Premier League, while on loan from the Gunners during the 2016-17 campaign.

Now one of the more experienced heads in Cherries’ dressing room, Wilshere also believes he can help the squad’s younger players.

“I do enjoy that side of it and I think that’s something that happens later on in your career when you’ve been through a lot and all your experiences, you can help the younger players,” he added.

“But I think the best way to help them is by setting the right examples, on the training pitch, around the training pitch doing things right, setting high standards of yourself in training because I know they are obviously really good players and have got a lot of ability.”