IT'S lights, cameras, action for AFC Bournemouth as the team attempts to clinch promotion to the Premier League in the full glare of the media spotlight.

The Cherries, who have spent much of the past two decades lurching from one financial crisis to the next, are attracting unprecedented levels of publicity as they aim to find the ultimate fairytale ending.

Tonight will see Eddie's men take on Bolton at home, before they travel to Charlton for the final game of the season. Victory in either game will guarantee the Cherries promotion to the Premier League for the first time ever after rivals Norwich and Middlesbrough both failed to win on Saturday.

And there are a lot of people watching to see if the Cherries can pull it off. Pre-match press conferences at the Goldsands Stadium that would normally only be of interest to the Echo and one or two others, have suddenly become major events.

At Friday's press conference ahead of the Bolton game, players Andrew Surman, Tommy Elphick and manager Eddie Howe fielded questions on everything from pre-match superstitions to refereeing decisions from around 20 national and local reporters and broadcasters.

A reporter from M&Y news agency was asking questions on behalf of the Sun, Mirror, Star and Sunday Mirror, while Sky, ITV, Football League World, Sky Bet, Sports Mole, Wave 105, sports agency Hayters, the Echo and the club's own Cherries Player were also represented. Radio Solent have their own arrangement with the club, which means they conduct their interviews separately.

Previously, such attention had only been lavished on AFC Bournemouth ahead of its high-profile cup ties with Aston Villa and Liverpool. But a couple of months ago, when it became apparent that the Cherries were genuine promotion contenders, Sky started attending every press conference and other media soon followed suit.

Wave 105 reporter Charlotte Butt, who has been a regular attendee since the Great Escape year, said: "It's something of a shock to see how many people have turned up today, this is crazy.

"I'm used to it just being the Echo, Radio Solent and me - a real one man and his dog affair - but it's all changed now. It's ever since Sky started showing an interest."

Cherries skipper Tommy Elphick was asked whether he was enjoying the increased media attention.

He said: "It comes with the territory. I enjoy it, I don't mind sitting in front of you guys and giving you a feeling of what we're going through.

"I never thought I would be sitting here in front of everybody talking about hopefully getting into the Premier League. That would be a great story, wouldn't it?"