STAR striker Steve Lovell put the finishing touches to his new contract with Cherries and then vowed to continue to pull out all the stops in a bid to rediscover his best.

Lovell yesterday penned a one-year deal with a 12-month option and admitted his decision to re-sign for the club he first joined as a teenager had been “easy”.

Verwood-raised Lovell, who returned to Dean Court for a second spell last summer, endured an injury-ravaged campaign and was restricted by an ankle injury to just nine appearances.

But, during the closing stages of an epic season, the 30-year-old showed glimpses of the form that once saw him establish himself as one of the top goalscorers in the Scottish Premier League.

The former Aberdeen, Dundee and Falkirk hitman, who shares his home on the outskirts of Glasgow with singer-songwriter Amy MacDonald, will continue to divide his time between Scotland and Dorset.

Lovell told the Daily Echo: “I think the club is going places. I was happy to be offered a new contract and delighted to sign. Although I had a difficult season, it was great to get back and to be involved in the play-offs.

“I worked hard to get back and felt I had been improving with every game. I was disappointed the season had to end when it did.

“It was always going to take a few months to get back to some decent form because I had been out for a year. But I was still quite pleased with how quickly things turned out in the end.

“The ankle has been really good. I still get a few aches and pains but that is to be expected. In a way, being thrown straight back into the first team probably helped me get my fitness back a bit quicker.”

Lovell added: “For the first time in my career, I am looking forward to pre-season. I will be working hard on all aspects of my fitness during the close season.

“I am planning to come in to work with Louis Langdown (Cherries’ conditioning coach) during the summer and put in some extra training to get me ready for pre-season.

“I am confident we can have another good year. The boys did fantastically well to get us into the play-offs and the team has great spirit.

“Although we have lost Danny Hollands, who was a massive player for us, I am sure the boys will stick together and we can give it another shot next season.

“I have got the utmost respect for everyone involved with the club.

“It is certainly in a much better position than it was a few years ago and I feel good around the place. To me, it is very important to feel at home at a club and that is how I feel here.”

• Cherries have provisionally arranged a pre-season friendly with Portsmouth for Monday, July 11.