THE BOURNE SUPREMACY
Sorry Saints.. We’re kings of the south coast now says Cook
BOURNEMOUTH defender Steve Cook has taunted neighbours Southampton by claiming the Cherries are now south coast top dogs.
Eddie Howe’s men finished in a higher league position than Saints for the first time ever last season and are once again looking down on Mark Hughes’ strugglers from sixth in the table.
Cook, whose blunder in the 1-0 defeat at St Mary’s in April effectively kept Saints in the Premier League, said: “We are the top team in the south right now.
“We finished above everyone on the south coast last season.
“I am sure a lot of people would argue against that but we let Southampton off last season - from a mistake by me - and we probably kept them in the league.
“We owe them. I know it’s at home but we will be looking to put things right from the away game last season.”
Portsmouth are Saints’ traditional foes and some fans are reluctant even to class this match - dubbed ‘El Clasicoast’ as a derby.
But former Brighton star Cook said: “In the end I was pleased Southampton did stay up because the rivalry will grow as long as we are both in the Premier League and playing regular fixtures. There was a silver lining, I suppose, in losing to them last season.
“As the games keep being played the fans can get their teeth stuck into it a bit more and I think it will become a good rivalry.
“It doesn’t really mean too much right now but it’s nice to have some bragging rights for the fans.”
Bournemouth’s stunning start to the season of five wins from eight games has got their supporters dreaming of Europe but long-serving Cook is remaining grounded.
Cook said: “It’s very hard to gauge. In seasons gone by, we haven’t started well and then finished well. We are targeting the top half. We want to get those 40 points as quickly as possible and then who knows?
“We are only eight games in, it’s a good start right now and we need to stay on top of things.
“We have got to target consistent wins. We have won a couple, drawn and then suffered a big loss against Burnley which really brought us down to earth.
“We don’t want to get too high right now. We have a job to do, we want to stay grounded and keep picking up these wins along the way.”