BOSS Scott Parker stopped short of outlying a firm ambition for Cherries this season – but wanted his squad to bring ingredients to be a “real force” in the Championship.

The Dorset club begin their league campaign with a home encounter against West Brom at Vitality Stadium tomorrow (7.45pm).

Cherries are among the favourites to gain promotion back to the top flight, along with the Baggies.

Asked whether it was his ambition to win the league in his new role, the 40-year-old replied: “My ambition is to improve the team and for us to be a real force this year.

“I can’t sit here and I’m not going to sit here and say winning the league or getting promoted is exactly where it is.

“What I do know is, what history has told me and my experiences have told me is that constant improvement, understanding what you need to bring to a football match gets you success.

“I don’t want to make big comments about getting promoted or that’s it because if you just have that as your sole focus along the way, you find your hiccups.

“How you react to those hiccups can prove damning really. What I want from my team is what I ask of them every single day of the week.

“That is a relentlessness, hard work and commitment. I understand that I’ve quality here and I know I’ve got quality, I see that every day in the first six weeks I’ve been here.

“We need to understand when we cross that line tomorrow night – whether it’s third game, fourth game, 24th game of the season, we bring certain ingredients.

“If we bring them, I have no doubt we will be successful – that needs to be the focus for me.”

Fulham, West Brom and Sheffield United are the top three in the betting to land the Championship title, with Cherries fourth in the market with most leading bookmakers.