FORMER Cherries chairman Peter Phillips believes the key to a prosperous future for the club lies with achieving on-field success.

Despite much of the spotlight in recent months shining on activities at boardroom level, Phillips thinks the club's new owners should focus on results on the pitch before tackling any other issues.

He said: "Hopefully over the next few days, things will become clearer. Whatever the outcome and whoever takes the club forward, I think their first priority should be to sort out performances on the pitch.

"If we can start winning matches and entertaining supporters again, then a debt free club could really fly.

"If we don't then, as Jeff (Mostyn) and Steve (Sly) know better than anyone, we will be back here again before long."

Phillips's comments come after a consortium led by current chairman Jeff Mostyn had their bid to buy the troubled Dean Court club accepted, in principle, by the administrators last week.

Mostyn and vice chairman Sly came under fire when it emerged last month that their investment in Cherries was made as a loan, rather than in share capital.

But Phillips defended Mostyn's right to "preferential status", after administrator Gerald Krasner revealed the Cherries chairman had a "semi-exclusivity" agreement to purchase the club.

"It does not seem unreasonable to me that Jeff Mostyn should have been given preferential status since he is currently bankrolling the club," said Phillips.

"I find it hard to join the righteous indignation that Jeff's money went into the club as loans rather than shares.

"The fact is that he and Steve have spent the best part of £1million in the past 18 months helping to keep the club afloat and however it may be shown in the balance sheet, they have lost their money."

Phillips, who described himself as one of the club's "substantial" creditors, vowed to re-invest his money in the club's youth set-up should he receive any repayment.

He said: "Lower league football in England is fundamentally unprofitable.

"Most football club directors put their hands in their pockets from time to time to help pay the wages or fend off an aggressive creditor.

"AFCB is no different, except that we have had no single wealthy benefactor and so the burden of subsidising Cherries fans' Saturday afternoon entertainment has fallen on a long list of people over the past 10 years and long before.

"I can't speak for other directors, but I think most would agree that we did it with our eyes open to keep the club alive and, although it is nice to dream of lucrative cup runs, by and large we accepted that we might never see the money again.

"For my own part, I have long ago written it off in my mind and if I do get any part of my money back I will put it all back into youth development."

Phillips added: "It is difficult to comment any further on the proposals for taking the club out of administration as we have so little information, either on the terms or the intentions of the consortium."