FIXTURES against Bournemouth stir plenty of memories for Jack Cork.

It is with the Cherries where it all began for the Clarets midfield, his first taste of senior football, playing alongside a Bournemouth stalwart in Eddie Howe.

Cork was battling to come through the ranks at Chelsea when he was sent to Dean Court for the first of spells on loan with six different clubs.

At the time Bournemouth were fighting to avoid relegation from League One, a fate that befall them a year later, setting off a chain of events that led to Howe taking the reins in the dugout, transforming the Cherries on the pitch.

"It was my first club when they were in League One. Eddie was still playing," Cork remembers of his spell on the south coast as a 17-year-old.

"It was a good club, they gave me a chance to play my football there. It's a nice, family friendly club and I always enjoy playing against them."

Howe was still a fixture in the Bournemouth side then. Soon enough he would take over in the dugout, safe Bournemouth from exiting the Football League after a 17-point deduction in League Two and begin the remarkable climb to the Premier League.

Howe's success with Bournemouth was briefly interrupted by an 18-month spell at Turf Moor, but he has hit new heights since he returned south and Cork could spot the traits that would make a good manager on the pitch.

"He was just coming to the end of his playing career and starting out with his coaching," Cork said.

"He was a good player, a good pro and you could always tell that he was going to go in to coaching.

"He was a good leader on the pitch, one of the more experienced players and you could just tell that was the way he was going. He's done brilliantly to do how he's done and to do it with the club he's been so popular at. It's an unbelievable achievement.

"They got relegated to League Two so he's saved that club. He kept going and going. He went back there after a spell at Burnley and got them in to the Premier League."

Cork made just seven appearances for Bournemouth during his time at the club, but it was a valuable spell for him as he made the first steps on his journey to regular first team football.

"They took a massive punt on me," he said. "I was there with Ryan Bertrand and we went straight in to the team when they were near the bottom of the table.

"It was good that they showed that faith in us to do that. Not a lot of teams would do that now with a 17-year-old. It was a great experience and I'm grateful that I got the opportunity to do that there."