GARY O’Neil will be demanding more from his charges after being appointed on a permanent basis, stressing: “I’m going to ask more of them still”.

Cherries announced that O’Neil had been promoted from his position of interim head coach on Sunday, with the board impressed with the rookie’s return of 13 points from 11 Premier League games.

In his first interview since being confirmed as permanent boss, O’Neil shared with afcbtv: “They’re a great group. I think they gave a lot, of course. I’m going to ask more of them still. I think there is still more in there, I think we can do more.

“I think everyone can do more. It is a tough league, the best league in the world, so every game is going to be very, very difficult.

“I’m just really excited to see where we can take the group, see how far we can push them, see what levels we can get to. Ultimately to make sure we survive this season.”

Detailing his plans for the break, O’Neil continued: “The interim spell, there was a next game coming very quickly all the time.

“Now it’s (time) to lay down some real foundations for how things need to look, what’s expected, how we play.

“To try and just improve the boys’ understanding, so they’re better at managing each situation that they find themselves up against, without need of things from the side all the time.

“Just to improve how well they understand what they do will be massive for us.

“The fitness as well – the boys have had a little break, we’ve had a few boys that have been out injured, so be good to get them all back and make sure we’re all firing come the cup game against Newcastle.”