PREVIOUS winner Jason Pearce lauded the successor to his crown and described Brett Pitman’s personal accolade as “fully deserved”.

Captain Pearce claimed a clean sweep of Cherries’ end-of-season awards last term and finished fourth in the voting for the latest Daily Echo/Micky Cave supporters’ gong.

And he was quick to lavish rich praise on Pitman by saying: “He’s been brilliant.

“Without his goals, we wouldn’t be where we are in the league, so I think he’s been fantastic.

“He’s really improved as a player and has brought so many goals to his game and loads of different goals – with his left foot, right foot and headers. I just think he has been outstanding this season.”

Pearce, who became the club’s youngest promotion-winning skipper when he helped Cherries over the line last weekend, added: “Brett got a lot of booing from fans in the past and I don’t think it was justified.

“He’s really proved what he’s about this year and has won over the fans, which is great for him and for us as well.

“It’s a great achievement for him and fully deserved.”

<•>Cherries will host Championship outfit Derby County in a pre-season friendly on Wednesday, July 21 (7.45pm).

The Dorset club has also pencilled in home warm-up games against Portsmouth and Tottenham Hotspur, while Eddie Howe’s men will visit Dorchester Town.