Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries squad has staying power says Pitman
MASTER marksman Brett Pitman is convinced Cherries have the staying power to last the promotion course and has insisted: We can go the distance.[LNB] Pitman took his goal tally for the season to 20 as Cherries maintained their quest for honours by claiming a precious point from a 2-2 draw with fellow high-fliers Notts County on Monday.[LNB] The 22-year-old has spearheaded Cherries' bid for a return to League One as Eddie Howe's charges have continued to overcome the odds against a backdrop of off-field uncertainty.[LNB] Pitman's haul has also gone a long way to answering the doubters who questioned whether Cherries would be equipped to sustain a promotion assault in the face of such adversity.[LNB] But as the countdown begins, Pitman believes Cherries can extend their seven-month unbroken stay in the top three by continuing to produce the goods over the final 10 games.[LNB] He told the Daily Echo: We haven't gone out of our way to prove people wrong but I think we have. We know what we're capable of and we know promotion is within our reach. If it wasn't then we wouldn't be where we are now.[LNB] People have said and written negative things about us whether we have won or lost this season. We can't stop that but we know in ourselves that we would be disappointed if we didn't win promotion.[LNB] We are confident we will. If we win enough games between now and the end of the season, we will go up and that's what we want. Our aim is automatic promotion.[LNB] Although the promotion picture is becoming much clearer as teams catch up with their games in hand, Pitman maintains Cherries can only focus on their results.[LNB] He said: Anybody who says they don't look at the other fixtures is lying, but all we can do is concentrate on our next game. We all know who's playing whom but all we can do is affect our results.[LNB] When we aren't playing and the teams around us lose, it's good for us.[LNB] But we can't affect that and all we can do is try to win every game, as we have all season.[LNB] Pitman will be hoping to help Cherries take another step towards League One when they travel to lowly Grimsby tomorrow. The Jerseyman missed Cherries' 3-3 draw at Grimsby last season but netted against the Mariners in a 3-1 win at Dean Court in October.[LNB] He added: It was a tough game and I remember we only managed to seal victory late on. They had just had a change of manager and were having a difficult time. Their results have picked up recently so we are going to have to play well.[LNB] We are confident and have played well in our past few games. We are looking like we can score goals so, hopefully, that will continue.[LNB] Pitman became the first Cherries player since James Hayter in 2005-06 to register 20 goals in a season. Hayter also achieved the feat in 2004-05, as have Mark Stein (1998-99), Steve Jones (1995-96), Jimmy Quinn (1991-92) and Luther Blissett (1990-91) in the past 20 years.[LNB] Cherries: (from) Jalal, Bradbury, Garry, Bartley, Wiggins, Feeney, Robinson, Hollands, Connell, Pitman, Fletcher, Goulding, Cummings, Igoe, McQuoid, Partington, Thomas. Mariners: (from) Colgan, Bore, Linwood, Atkinson, Widdowson, Coulson, Leary, Peacock, Hegarty, Wright, Akpa Akpro, Proudlock, Hudson, Bird, Jarman, Chambers, Stockdale, Oxley.[LNB]
