EDDIE Mitchell insists Cherries are equipped for promotion and has revealed ambitious plans for Dean Court should the club reach the Championship.

Chairman and majority shareholder Mitchell has overseen a remarkable transformation in the club’s fortunes since taking a controlling interest in June 2009.

And with Cherries currently occupying one of the two automatic promotion berths in League One, the next chapter in the fairytale is now within touching distance.

Cherries’ credentials will face a stern examination in the coming weeks with four of their next five home games against teams in the top seven.

Third-placed Huddersfield Town visit Dean Court tomorrow before fallen giants Sheffield Wednesday head to Dorset for a rearranged clash on Tuesday.

High-fliers Oldham, Southampton and Charlton are all due at Dean Court in the next five weeks, with Cherries’ ability to stay the course likely to be more apparent by the time they travel to sixth-placed Peterborough on April Fool’s Day.

“We desperately want to go into the Championship,” said Mitchell. “It is not a pipe dream any more, it is a real possibility.

“We have already surpassed a lot of peoples’ expectations this season and that has been down to a great deal of hard work from everybody connected with the club.”

Mitchell has sanctioned new contracts for several players in recent weeks and says he has already drawn up a provisional budget to facilitate promotion.

As a League One club this season, Cherries received a payment of £335,000 as part of a deal with the Premier League, while all Championships clubs banked £2.2m.

Mitchell added: “The extra income would go a long way to helping to finance several initiatives. We have done a budget for next season based on the wages the players would be on and have allowed for some signings.

“We want to start work on a new training facility adjacent to the stadium and have plans for two grass and two artificial pitches and changing rooms.

“If we were to go up, we would look to erect a permanent stand at the south end of the ground. We have already got planning for a mirror of the North Stand and, with some slight adjustments, we could pop that up straight away.

“The players are capable of competing in the Championship and, if we were to arrive there, we would certainly try to consolidate. Revenue streams would increase, as would away support.

“If it doesn’t happen, we have already achieved what we set out to do this season and would have a good crack at it next season.”

Asked whether the club had plans to leave their current training base at Canford School, Mitchell said: “I don’t think they ever envisaged us staying there permanently. As much as we have appreciated the usage, if things don’t materialise, we would want to continue using the facility. Nothing is set in stone but it has got to be our ambition to get training facilities up and running at Dean Court.”