CHERRIES star Marcus Tavernier’s dreams of one day going to the World Cup seem that little bit more real by watching his teammates on the biggest stage.

Tavernier’s fellow Cherries Kieffer Moore and Chris Mepham are gearing up to salvage their World Cup campaign when they face England tomorrow evening (kick-off 7pm), with Wales knowing an unlikely victory over their rivals may not be enough to secure passage to the knockout stages.

By swapping Championship Middlesbrough for Premier League football at Cherries this summer, Tavernier is frequently rubbing shoulders with world-class internationals, as well as sharing a dressing room with those that have experienced a World Cup, such as Jefferson Lerma.

The 23-year-old has eased into life in the top-flight, recently adding goals and assists to his game after a bright start to his Premier League career. In the three league games prior to the break, the Leeds-born midfielder grabbed two goals and set-up four goals, opening his account for the club in the 4-3 defeat to Leeds United.

Asked if seeing his teammates playing on the biggest stage in Qatar made his dreams of playing at a World Cup feel more like a possibility, Tavernier told the Daily Echo: “Yeah, definitely.

“I congratulated them when they got announced, and I'm looking forward to seeing them out there.

“It's every kids’ dream to play at the World Cup and I'm no different.

“It’s something that I want to do in my life, but I know that I have to keep working hard and putting the right performances in on the pitch.

“Hopefully I can do that, and one day I can get a call up to the national team.”

Members of the squad who were not called up for international duty, either for friendlies or the World Cup returned to training this morning, with Gary O’Neil leading his first session since being confirmed as permanent head coach.

Cherries will shortly fly out to Dubai later this week for a warm weather camp, where they will also play a friendly with Belgian top-flight outfit Royal Antwerp on December 4.

Speaking about the job O’Neil had done prior to the announcement that he was Cherries’ solution to their head coach vacancy, Tavernier commented: “Give him all the credit in the world because he’s been nothing but great for us.

“It was a tough ask when he first came in and you see straight away the performances and the way that we're playing, it's been great and we can't thank him enough for what he's done so far.”