GARY O’Neil insists the time for celebrating will come after the season, as Cherries’ boss turns 40 today.

Appointed permanent head coach of the club in November after a successful interim spell, O’Neil has guided Cherries to Premier League safety, with two games to spare.

His overall record, in his first ever managerial role, reads 11 wins, six draws and 19 defeats from 36 matches in charge.

Cherries sit 14th in the table, on 39 points, and could finish as high as 11th were they to win their final two games of the season against Manchester United and Everton.

Asked if the last six months have aged him ahead of his milestone birthday, O’Neil said: “Yes. I saw some people when I managed to pop to my old golf club the other day, I hadn’t been there for about a year.

“As I walked in they were like, ‘cor, football management must be tough!’. I said ‘it’s been an interesting few months!’

“They said I was ageing and that I need to look after myself. So once the season is done, I’ll try.”

Asked if he was disappointed to be reaching 40 before his team do, O’Neil added: “I’m not that disappointed about reaching 40, I’m fine with reaching 40.

“39 points is a good tally, but the fact we’ve been stuck on it for two weeks now, it doesn’t feel as good as it did obviously after Leeds.

“I’m disappointed that we didn’t manage to shift it into the 40s with a decent performance against Chelsea. And disappointed that we didn’t even give ourselves a chance (on Saturday) with how we performed (at Crystal Palace). This week we try and push it into the 40s.”

Asked if he had any special plans to mark his birthday this week, O’Neil added: “No, I won’t be celebrating.

“We’ll get to the end of the season and let’s reflect on everything.

“Then I’ll have a clearer picture of what we’ve achieved, what we haven’t, where we’ve fell short, where we need to improve, what we’ve done well.

“And then in the summer, give myself a small amount of time before we get ready for next season.”