PREMIER League legend Alan Shearer heaped praise on the performance of Jack Stephens at Wolves.

The centre-back, on loan from Southampton, has enjoyed more regular playing time in recent weeks and excelled as Cherries won 1-0 at Molineux.

The 29-year-old led the way for clearances (11), headed clearances (5) and blocks (3) as Cherries’ defence had to stand firm to claim all three points.

Marcus Tavernier’s goal proved enough to lift Cherries out of the relegation zone with 15 games to play.

Speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day, former Premier League winner and the competition’s all-time top goalscorer Shearer, said: “It was a massive win for them. When you consider Wolves’ last home game was against Liverpool and they scored three.

“Jack Stephens, I thought he was superb.

“He was at the heart of everything that Bournemouth did very well. It wasn’t just about his defending.

“Also he was prepared to be brave on the ball and try and play out, as they do. But it was his defending and his positioning particularly that was impressive. He got in the way of everything.

“He read it and his understanding of the game I thought was magnificent. It was a superb performance from him.

“They’re going to need a lot more of that, but well done to them, they did well.”