COOK COAST BOAST
Cherries on top of Saints says Steve
STEVE COOK has taunted Bournemouth rivals Southampton by claiming the Cherries are now top dogs on the south coast.
Eddie Howe’s men finished in a higher league position than sorry Saints for the first time last season and are once again looking down on Mark Hughes’ strugglers from the lofty heights of sixth place.
Ahead of tomorrow’s ‘El Clasicoast’ showdown Cook has also told Saints they owe their Premier League survival to the Cherries.
The defender, whose blunder in the 1-0 defeat at St Mary’s in April effectively kept Mark Hughes’ Saints up, said: “I think we are the top team in the south right now.
“We finished above everyone on the south coast last season.
Rivalry
“I am sure a lot of people would argue against that, but we let Southampton off last season – with 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 Southampton’s more traditional foes but Cook believes the rivalry between Bournemouth and Saints is growing every time they play.
He 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.
“That was the 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 brilliant start to the season of five wins from eight games has got their supporters dreaming of Europe.
But long-serving Cook is refusing to get carried away and said: “It’s very hard to gauge. In seasons gone by, we haven’t started well but have then finished well.
“We are targeting the top half. We want to get those 40 points as quickly as possible and then who knows?
“It’s only eight games in, it’s a good start right now but 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.
“Who knows where it will take us?”