MIDFIELDER Ben Pearson attributes Scott Parker’s always-on-it attitude as key in instilling the winning mentality at Cherries, insisting: “There’s no days off, there is nowhere to hide.”

Ex-Fulham boss Parker arrived towards the end of pre-season and had a squad mostly made up of youngsters and injured seniors, with not too much time to lay on his high-octane system.

But that didn’t matter and results began to flow in early, with only an EFL Cup demolition at the hands of Premier League side Norwich and the Preston defeat a blot on his competitive Cherries record so far.

As returns to fitness were made and signings began to come through the door, the squad has continued to improve and they remain top of the table despite a first defeat.

Speaking to the Daily Echo, Pearson said: “I think he just brings a good work ethic to training every day, there’s no days off, there’s stats every day in training of how hard you’re running so there is nowhere to hide.

“I just think there’s a real togetherness, everyone’s working hard for each other, everyone believes in the philosophy.

“I think you can see what it means to this team, after the game there’s a real sense of wanting to win, I just think the words he uses, the way he talks, it gets everyone going.”

He added: “I just think it gives us confidence, that’s about it. There’s no prizes for being top now but it does give us the confidence that it’s working, the way we are playing is working.

“I just think it’s nice to be top but it doesn’t mean anything just yet.”