CARDIFF City boss Dave Jones heaped generous praise on Cherries, then revealed he would be willing to help bolster the club's threadbare squad with some loan players.

Jones, the former Southampton manager, watched as his team recorded a 2-1 Carling Cup victory at Dean Court on Tuesday night.

And after admitting he was impressed with the Dorset side's efforts against his Championship outfit, Jones, pictured, indicated that he would consider assisting the south coast club via the loan market, if it suited both parties.

"I'll always help if it's right for us as a football club," Jones, who led Cardiff to the FA Cup final last season, told the Daily Echo.

"I'm not helping Kevin (Bond) because he's my mate, I'm helping because it's right for us.

"If it's right for us as a football club, we'll loan players out to the right clubs - and certainly Bournemouth is the right club because they play good football and we're trying to preach that to our players.

"If Kevin needs help and I can help him I would certainly do it because the pitch is beautiful and it's a good stadium.

"They knock it around and he's teaching them the right way, so I wouldn't have any hesitation in loaning any of my youngsters here if Kevin felt it was right for him."

Having tasted life in the lower leagues in his time as Stockport County boss during the 1990s, Jones appreciates the tough task facing his Cherries counterpart Kevin Bond this season.

He said: "It's always difficult. I've been at Stockport and I know what it's like down there and when things are difficult to bring players in you've got to go and pick up like he (Bond) did on Tuesday.

"He brought in a couple of his youngsters who aren't really ready to go and play and he's picked up the boy Sappleton from Leicester - you've got to do that."

Jones felt Cherries worked hard on Tuesday night after his side failed to kill the game off, having stormed into a 2-0 lead early on.

"I thought they battled and chased and I wouldn't have expected anything else," he said.

"It was always going to be a difficult tie for us here. Kevin's got them well drilled and well organised.

"We were the favourites and I felt certainly for the first 25 or 30 minutes we showed that.

"We gave a sloppy goal away and gave them hope and it doesn't matter what level you play, while there's still hope a team will keep going.

"Full credit to Bournemouth for keeping going and I'm sure Kevin will be proud of his players."