Cherries star Rhoys Wiggins believes first-team football at Dean Court was a key factor in his recent international call-up.

The left-back is keen to remain in the Wales frame after being drafted into Brian Flynn’s squad for their Euro 2012 qualifier in Switzerland earlier this month.

Wiggins has plenty of experience of international football, with 16 caps to his name at under-19 and under-21 level, but it was the first time he had been involved in the senior set-up.

And he thinks playing with Cherries helped earn him the recognition with Wales.

Having joined from Norwich City in the summer, the former Crystal Palace defender has been an ever-present as Eddie Howe’s men have made a fine start to life in League One.

When asked if he felt regular football at Dean Court had helped press his claims, he told the Echo: “Yeah, definitely.

“I don’t think you could get a call-up playing just reserve football or just the odd game once every month.

“So definitely playing first-team football is helping me on the international stage.

“We’ve had a good start and had another good win on Saturday and have got to follow it up now with some points at Sheffield Wednesday.”

London-born Wiggins, who qualified to play for Wales as his father is Welsh, is now hoping to keep himself in the frame.

He said: “You’ve got to see who the new manager is that comes in.

“But with Brian calling me up this time, he (the manager) is going to look at the last squad, hopefully, and see my name.

“It gives me a good incentive to carry on playing well.”

Wiggins discovered that he would be travelling to Basle with the Welsh team after getting a phone call following Cherries’ draw at Brighton.

And he revealed he had enjoyed and learned from the trip.

“It was good to see a few familiar faces because it’s been two years since I’ve been away with the under-21s,” said Wiggins.

“There were a few of those players there and then you’ve got the older ones as well who you can learn a lot from.

“It was good. I was disappointed not to get on the bench but training and everything else was top-drawer, so I enjoyed every minute of it.”

He added: “There were still a few players missing through suspension but there was still enough talent there to learn from and you could see it even watching the game – there was a lot to learn from.”