Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries are a team 'nobody wants to play' says Feeney
DEAN Court old boy Warren Feeney has described in-form Cherries as the team nobody wants to play at the moment.[LNB] Feeney will be hoping to earn a recall against Lee Bradbury's League One surprise packages when promotion rivals Oldham Athletic come to town (3pm).[LNB] The Northern Ireland international enjoyed a fruitful spell with Cherries, netting 36 goals in 108 league games between March 2001 and May 2004.[LNB] Crowned supporters' player of the year at Dean Court in 2002, the Ulsterman has scored three times in as many return visits to the venue and is in the frame to start for the out-of-sorts Latics.[LNB] Restricted to just nine league starts since his summer move from Cardiff, Feeney was instrumental in helping Oldham topple Cherries 2-1 at Boundary Park in September.[LNB] And although the victory saw the Latics climb above Cherries into the top six, the two clubs have since experienced fluctuating fortunes, with the Dorset outfit leaving most of their rivals trailing in their wake.[LNB] One defeat in 13 since the turn of the year has seen Cherries consolidate second place, while a six-match winless run including a thumping 5-0 home mauling by Peterborough six days ago has seen the Latics slip to ninth.[LNB] Feeney, an unused sub against Posh, told the Daily Echo: At the start of the season, I don't think anybody would have predicted that Bournemouth would be second by the start of March. I think most people outside of Bournemouth had probably written them off as relegation candidates.[LNB] I know a couple of clubs have managed back-to-back promotions from League Two to the Championship recently but, it would be fair to say, they probably had far bigger budgets than Bournemouth.[LNB] The same people who wrote them off at the start of the season probably thought the wheels would come off after Eddie Howe had left.[LNB] But they have maintained the momentum and their record under Big Fletch and Bradders, two very passionate guys, is probably better than Eddie's.[LNB] It could have gone either way for them after Eddie went. But to win five and draw four of your first nine games as a management team is a tremendous record.[LNB] What they have done has been absolutely fantastic and for them to be in with a chance of promotion is a quite phenomenal achievement.[LNB] Feeney, a transfer target for Howe last summer, added: They are on a great run and Bradders and Fletch have certainly got them ticking.[LNB] To come from behind to beat Dagenham was a great result. It is a horrible place to go and they are a tough side to beat. But it just shows the mentality of the Bournemouth players. They are in the habit of winning and will be looking to keep it going.[LNB] I was impressed with them when we played them in September. You could see they were young, enthusiastic and full of legs. You know Bournemouth will always try to play and this team is doing the club proud.[LNB]
