FIT-AGAIN Jack Stacey admits training under Scott Parker is "tough", but believes all the hard work will be worth it as the boss "knows how to get out of this division".

Parker arrived at Cherries in June, replacing the outgoing Jonathan Woodgate.

He came in after opting to leave former club Fulham, following relegation from the Premier League.

Parker brings a wealth of experience from his playing career to his new role at Cherries, but perhaps most notably has also achieved early success as a coach.

In his first full season at Fulham, the former England midfielder piloted the Cottagers out of the second tier and straight back to the top flight, via the play-offs.

And after suffering play-off heartache themselves in their first season back in the Championship, Cherries are hoping this can be the season they get themselves back in the Premier League.

Asked what it had been like working under Parker so far, full-back Stacey told the Daily Echo: "It’s tough, but it’s enjoyable because you know that he knows how to get out of this division and he’s going to push every player to do what needs to be done to get out of this division.

"He demands intensity and hard work from everyone, puts the team first, so I really like that aspect of it.

"We know it’s going to be hard to get out of this division and he knows what to do, so he’s going to push us to do it."

Stacey started Parker's first competitive game in charge of Cherries, a Carabao Cup clash with MK Dons, but lasted just 41 minutes before being replaced through injury.

After battling back from the quad problem, the 25-year-old made his return to action for last Saturday's 0-0 draw with Hull City.

"Since I’ve watched the first game of the season everything I’ve done is to get back out there," said Stacey.

"So on a personal level it’s nice to come back and play 90 minutes.

"You work hard in pre-season, you do all the running with the first game of the season in mind, that’s your motivation.

"So to do all the hard part and miss the enjoyable part was frustrating of course. But hopefully now there’s a long season to go and I can put that behind me and get some games under my belt."

Asked if he is pleased to now have a couple of weeks to recover before hosting Barnsley after the international break on September 11, Stacey added: "It’s probably a bit frustrating to be honest. Now I just want to play game after game after watching it for a while.

"But I think the physios will say it’s probably better for me not to push it with a midweek game and another game on Saturday.

"So they probably think it’s better, but for me I just want to play as many games as possible."

Discussing the squad's plans during the international break, Stacey added: "We’ll be in training and still getting to know the manager’s style and pushing so that after the international break we can go again."