WHEN you have represented England throughout the age groups and been snapped up by one of the powerhouses of world football – there is always going to be a high level of expectation on you.

After a stellar spell which helped Lincoln reach the League One play-off final at Wembley last season, Morgan Rogers arrived on loan at Cherries from Manchester City with excitement, pedigree and bags of potential.

But, by his own admission, the 19-year-old said his start to life on the south coast had been “difficult at times”.

The Halesowen-born youngster has faced a tough battle to gain match minutes at the Dorset club. From 14 Championship appearances, he has started on just one occasion.

But having come off the bench to net his first goal for the club during Saturday’s 3-2 defeat at Luton, an honest Rogers admitted he has still got “a long way to go”.

“It’s a big moment and a big achievement for me,” he told the Daily Echo, after his inaugural Cherries strike.

“It’s something I’ve been striving for ever since I got here. To finally do it, I am happy with myself.

“I still know it’s not the be all and end all – we didn’t get the three points and it’s working towards contributing to the team and winning games.

“I still know I’ve got a long way to go to where I want to get to. It’s just about improving, taking what I can and moving on.”

Asked whether there was anyone in particular he would like to dedicate the goal to, the talented winger replied: “My family, because they have stuck by me.

“I haven’t necessarily started this season as well as I’d have liked and it’s difficult at times.

“But I felt like I have stuck at it, tried to get positives out, tried to be positive in myself and trying to improve and develop myself.

“It’s kind of a relief I suppose. We’ve just got to move on and keep going now.”

There is no doubting Rogers’s potential. This is someone who scored a hat-trick for England under-17s to help them overcome Belgium and lift the Syrenka Cup.

This season, while on loan, he made his England under-20 debut against Romania at St George’s Park.

But of course, his tough start to life in the Championship begs the question, what has not quite yet clicked for him at Cherries?

“Just being me, I think. Trying too hard at times and trying to impress too much,” he replied. “Trying to always do a special thing when I don’t necessarily need to.

“I feel like it’s in my own head maybe at times and I’ve just had to take a step back really and look, look at myself and evaluate myself, try and look to develop and see where I can improve. Just trying to get better.

“You don’t want to get ahead of yourself too early. I need to look at myself and look at what I can improve at, first and foremost. Take everything else out of it, look at me first.

“That’s what I have been doing lately, just trying to get back to basics. Doing the basics well and just trying to develop and learn in my game and improve my game, because that’s ultimately what I want to do here.

“I feel like I am on the right path but I need to keep going and not get ahead of myself.”

Scott Parker last month admitted Rogers had potentially “tried a little bit too hard” this campaign.

But the forward is thankful for the honest, open conversations he has had with the club’s head coach.

Rogers said: “We are in contact quite a lot, just talking generally. He is a very approachable person to speak to and I have learned so much off him in such a short space of time.

“I really love speaking and working under him. We have had a lot of conversations where it really helps me.

“I have learned so much off the players I am training with. The coaching staff and the manager, so it can only be a positive for me really.

“I am really enjoying it so far. I just want to keep going, keep improving, keep learning off the big players in the group. That’s my goal."