CHERRIES midfielder Ryan Christie felt it was important for his side to go into the international break with a win, sharing his hopes that it can serve as a platform for the final part of the campaign.

Despite trailing by three goals at half time last time out, Cherries managed to defeat Luton Town 4-3 and enter the international break with seven points from their last three games.

Andoni Iraola’s charges are now 14 points clear of the relegation zone following Nottingham Forest’s points deduction, with just 10 games remaining in the Premier League season.

Following victory over Luton, Cherries have a 17-day gap in fixtures, with their next game not until Saturday, March 30, when they host relegation-threatened Everton at Vitality Stadium.

Asked how important it was to go into the break with three points, Christie told the Daily Echo: “Big.

“I think that's why we were so desperate to get a positive result before the game.

“And again, why we were so frustrated at half time.

“Because if you come out of the game having lost it or even drawn it, you've got to stay on that result for 17 days.

“So, positive to get the three points and obviously it puts us in a real good place now, coming back after the break.”

Christie is one of numerous Cherries heading away on international duty with their countries during the international break.

The former Celtic midfielder will hope to add to his 45 caps for Scotland.

Scotland face friendlies against the Netherlands (Friday, 7.45pm) and Northern Ireland (Tuesday, 7.45pm) as they ramp up their preparations for this summer’s Euros in Germany.

Whilst there will be no rest for Christie this month, the midfielder believes his teammates deserve a bit of rest after their efforts in recent weeks.

He restarted: “I think the boys will get a little rest now, which is well deserved because it's felt like a pretty hard stint, over the last few weeks.

“Get a break and then see what we can do between now and the end of the season.

“Obviously got some big games coming up straight after the break.

“If we can put another run together who knows how far we can go.”

Christie has established himself as a key cog of Iraola’s Cherries machine, appearing in every single Premier League game and playing 87 per cent of available minutes in the league.