MIDFIELD maestro Lewis Cook shared how he felt blessed to be a part of the exciting future Cherries are building towards after making his 200th appearance for the club.

A 1-1 draw at West Ham saw Cook rack up the double century mark for Cherries, the midfielder having arrived on the south coast from Leeds United in July 2016.

Dominic Solanke’s third-minute opener was eventually cancelled out by James Ward-Prowse’s second-half spot-kick in a tame encounter at London Stadium.

Cherries had opportunities in the first half to stretch their lead further but found West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola in fine form.

However, in the second half chances were at a premium for both sides, Ward-Prowse’s penalty the most notable event of the final 45 minutes.

Despite sharing his disappointment at having to settle for the draw, the 26-year-old stated his belief that a point away at the London Stadium was not the end of the world.

He told the Daily Echo: “I felt like we maybe could have got the three points, but coming here on the night, it is a good point in the Premier League.

“They're a good team too, they always find a way.

“We were disappointed, we felt like we could have got more, but we move on to the next one.”

Whilst reaching 200 games at any professional football club is no mean feat, Cook admitted a small sense of feeling that he should have reached the milestone earlier.

The one-time England international suffered two ACL tears in his right knees, ruling him out for large swathes of the 2018-19 and 2020-21 campaigns.

Cook resumed: “I feel like I say to a lot of people.

“I felt like I could have hopefully got that a long time ago, but obviously circumstances have made it hard.

“But I think if I look at it in the big picture, it's a big achievement.

“I always wanted to be a professional footballer as a kid and playing 200 games for this club and a lot of games in the Premier League is a blessing.”

Having arrived at Cherries ahead of their maiden Premier League season, Cook has now featured in 119 top-flight games.

Following Bill Foley’s takeover at Vitality Stadium a year ago, ambitions at Cherries have grown, with Cook delighted to be a part of the “project” being built in Dorset.

“I feel like it's always been a positive place,” continued Cook.

“It's always had that family feel, like I always say, and I think now especially there's a really big project and you can see clearly.

“It's somewhere I'm delighted to be.

“A great group of lads that I always mention.

"It's just a nice place to be at the moment.”