Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe is happy with the spirit amongst his players in preseason.

Howe was speaking after Cherries had kicked off their warm-up friendlies with a lively 1-1 draw against Sevilla at La Manga Club last night.

He told AFCBTV: "It was a really good test. We wanted a tougher pre-season this year and I think that game was evident of what we were after.

"It was a tough and really quick game. I was really pleased with the players, especially in the second half when I thought we gave a really good account of ourselves.

"It got quite tense at the end and a lot of tackles (were being made) but the will to win is really strong in the squad and I was pleased to see that element of it come out.

"We have developed the group in such a way where everything we do in training is geared to winning. It is such an important thing, you can't switch it on and off and I don't want them to.

"Although there are no points at stake, there is still pride at stake and everyone is vying for positions to get into the team.

"You are trying to create a winning mentality and I thought that was evident. I was really impressed with the way we came back from the difficult position we had put ourselves in.

"The second-half display was everything I want to see the team delivering. We were really good with the ball and had a high intensity and pressed off it.

"Fitness-wise, I thought we looked really strong. We have worked well and it was no surprise. I was confident we would deliver a good performance, physically."