CHERRIES stalwart Junior Stanislas has labelled the final days of pre-season as an “important week”, with the winger believing he and his teammates are “still building”.

Stanislas, who missed large swathes of last season due to injury, stepped up his return to full-fitness on Saturday, coming off the bench to play 15 minutes against Real Sociedad, scoring in the process.

The 32-year-old boasts the most Premier League experience in the Cherries ranks, with 140 games in the top-flight across nine seasons.

As one of the more experienced members of Cherries’ squad, Stanislas is more than prepared to share his knowledge with other players – but the former West Ham man pointed out this his head coach was more than well-suited to lead the Dorset club into the Premier League.

Speaking with Afcbtv, Stanislas shared: “Every season is going to be a big one for me, but for the team as well. I’m not sure how many of the lads have played in the Premier League before, but it’s going to be a big test for the lads who have, and a big test for the lads who haven’t.

“So we’re all in the same boat, just got to work hard together and see what we can do.

“I’ll play my part, obviously, I’ve done it for a few years, so any insight or knowledge for the younger boys I can give, I will do. Gaffer has done it for 20 odd years, so he’s going to be the one to lead us, and tell us what he wants.”

Reflecting on the Real Sociedad friendly, Stanislas stated: “Individually for me, it was just nice to get some minutes on the pitch.

“In terms of the collective, if we look at them (Real Sociedad), they’re a top side, and that’ s obviously the levels we need to get to, and aim to get to.

“But we dug in. Disappointed to concede from a set play, as I say we’re still building. We’ve got one more important week to go ahead of the big kick-off next week, so we keep building.”