With all 11 starting places up for grabs for the first game of the season against Charlton Athletic on August 6th, manager Lee Bradbury has laid down a challenge to all of his players to fight for the right to play.
Speaking in the Bournemouth Evening Echo, Bradders is quoted as saying: "I want competition for places throughout and I think it is healthy. I want the lads to work day in, day out to earn the shirt. I don’t want anybody resting on their laurels, thinking that they are going to be playing every week. I want them all to have to earn it and I think they showed in Tuesday’s game that that is the case. I said to them before we went away that when they came back it would be a clean slate and they needed to earn their shirts again, and to make sure they were starting come August 6".