BOSS Eddie Howe watched his charges bring down the curtain at Dean Court with a rousing finale and then hailed Cherries’ home form as “excellent”.

Cherries’ 4-0 win over League Two play-off hopefuls Port Vale on Saturday was the club’s biggest victory in their final home game for 39 years.

It also saw Howe’s promotion heroes put the finishing touches to one of the best home campaigns since the club joined the Football League in 1923.

Harry Redknapp’s class of 1987 boast the best home record after they dropped only nine points on their way to winning the old Division Three championship.

Howe’s men can lay claim to the joint-eighth best return having surrendered just 18 points thanks to 16 wins, three draws and four defeats – a record matched in 1984-85.

In his first full season, Howe also saw Cherries win their opening five home league games, while victory in their final seven helped cement promotion.

Howe told the Daily Echo: “We started really well and have kept a lot of clean sheets at home, which has been fundamental to our success. We haven’t perhaps been as free-scoring as we would have wanted but have ground out results and played really well.

“We had a couple of blips in-between, which I think is only natural in a long campaign. In the main, we can’t fault the players for their efforts.

“After we had had three defeats in a row in January, two at home, we needed a response. Every time the players have looked like they are down and out, they have produced another performance from somewhere. It is those performances on the back of defeats that have been really special.”