Ryan Christie helped Bournemouth retain their Premier League status and knows the cherry on top would be keeping Scotland out in front in their Euro 2024 bid.
The attacking midfielder is in Spain being put through his paces as part of Steve Clarke’s squad ahead of next week’s trip to Norway and the home qualifier against Georgia. The 28-year-old is fresh off a successful first season in the English top flight, where he helped newly-promoted Bournemouth defy the odds.
The club were tipped to make a flying visit to the Premier League and things didn’t look much better when Scott Parker was sacked last August. But Gary O’Neill stepped in to spark a turnaround as the Cherries finished the season in 15th spot. Christie said: “The big one was staying up. Everybody was writing us off at the start of the season – we were 100 per cent the team going down. It’s nice to have the last laugh on those critics. All the boys were buzzing.
“If anyone had said we were going to be safe in the Premier League with four or five games to go, we’d have bitten your hand off. It was nice and relaxing going into the last few games. We didn’t have that pressure of trying to win to stay in the league.
“It was good, it was done and dusted and we can look forward to the Premier League again next year, playing in amazing grounds at Manchester United, Liverpool and City. I have a lot of good memories and hopefully we can make a few more.”
It’s been a step up after his first season was spent in the Championship but he’s relished the challenge. He added: “I’ve loved it but it was tough at the start.
"It took me a month to six weeks to get used to the games and how quick a tempo it is. But I’m up to speed with it and the other aspects.”
