GARY O’Neil insists Will Dennis “understands the situation” of being left out of Cherries’ 25-man Premier League squad.

Goalkeeper Dennis regularly travelled with the first-team squad for matchdays over the past couple of seasons, named on the bench on multiple occasions, including on the opening day of this campaign against Aston Villa.

However, having turned 22 over the summer, Dennis no longer qualifies as an under-21 player and has to be included in the official squad list to be available for matches.

He missed the cut when Cherries submitted their list for the first half of the Premier League campaign, and is now limited to development squad action, with Cameron Plain instead travelling with the team.

Plain has also been on the bench for the past few fixtures, following an injury to Neto, with Mark Travers coming back into the team.

Despite not being available for matches, Dennis, who has made one senior appearance for Cherries, continues to train with the first team and is currently with the squad in Dubai for their warm weather camp.

Asked how Dennis has responded to his new situation of not being involved on matchdays, boss O’Neil told the Daily Echo: “Will is fine. Will understands the situation.

“He’s a young goalie obviously. He’s got loads of work to do to progress.

“That’s still going on, so it doesn’t really change his day-to-day stuff.

“We’re still working very hard with him to help him progress.

“It was just a club decision.

“We obviously had to come together and decide which 25 fits best at the moment.”

Cherries have the opportunity to revise their 25-man list during the January transfer window.

Dennis joined Cherries as a teenager in 2016 and has previously spent time out on loan at non-league clubs Wealdstone, Weymouth, Verwood Town and Guernsey.