ALAN Connell put the finishing touches to his return to Dean Court and then admitted the opportunity to rejoin Cherries was "too good to turn down".

Connell yesterday agreed terms on a two-year deal after arriving from League Two rivals Brentford for an appearance-related nominal fee.

The 25-year-old striker met his new team-mates for the first time today and looks set to make his second debut for the club at Port Vale tomorrow.

Connell started his career at Dean Court in 2002 after being recommended to former boss Sean O'Driscoll by Ipswich chief scout Colin Suggett. A product of the Ipswich youth ranks, he made an explosive start by scoring six goals in his first seven games before a serious knee injury robbed him of almost 18 months.

He spent a season in League Two with both Torquay and Hereford before moving to Brentford in the summer of 2007.

But despite ending last season with 12 goals and enjoying a fruitful warm-up campaign, Connell has spent much of this term warming the bench.

He told the Daily Echo: "Although I had another year left at Brentford, the chance to join Bournemouth was too good to turn down. I was very disillusioned with what happened there and, as soon as I heard of Bournemouth's interest, I jumped at the chance to come back.

"There is no other club I would have joined in the position they are in but it's a special club for me and I've always had an affinity for Bournemouth. They gave me my debut and I'm desperate to see the club be a success.

"I made up my mind very quickly and I wouldn't have joined if I hadn't been confident that will get results and climb the league. With the squad we've got, I'm sure we will win more games than we lose.

"You need to set realistic targets and even more so here because we have started the season with a hefty points deduction. Our first aim must be to get our first win and then we've got to start clawing back the points. Once we get back to zero, we can start climbing the table and then think about where we might finish."

Connell hit 11 goals in 63 appearances - including 41 from the bench - during his first spell at the club before bagging seven and nine goals, respectively, for Torquay and Hereford.

He returns to Dean Court with Cherries currently seven points adrift of safety and with just two goals to their credit in three league games. Connell added: "I'm looking forward to trying to do well for Bournemouth and to help us get a few results. Every time you play, you are always under a certain amount of pressure. I want to score goals and nothing would give me more pleasure than to be a success here.

"Results could have been better but there are still 43 league games to go.

"It's no good looking back and thinking we could have done this or that. We've just got to get the points on the board and climb the table."