Junior Stanislas reflects on Bournemouth's 'difficult' Real Sociedad pre-season defeat

Bournemouth winger Junior Stanislas has admitted the pre-season defeat to Real Sociedad was a 'difficult' encounter, and believes the Premier League will be a 'big step up' for the side.

The Cherries suffered a 2-1 loss yesterday in their final warm-up fixture ahead of the top-flight season kicking off next weekend, although Stanislas netted the consolation after being slotted through late on.

Asked for his thoughts after the final whistle, the 32-year-old reflected on the positives taken from his minutes on the pitch, but conceded it was the stylish visitors who largely dictated the flow of the game.

"I think individually for me, it was nice to get some minutes on the pitch," he told afcbTV. "In terms of the collective, if we look at them, they're a top side. That's obviously the level we need to get to and aim to get to.

"We dug in. We're disappointed to concede from a set play but as I say, we're still building. We've got one more important week to go before the big kick-off next week."

Despite the usual caveats that come with results in pre-season, Stanislas has rued Bournemouth's recent turbulent run, which has seen them lose their last three friendlies in a row.

"Results [in pre-season], they're not the be all and end all, but they're nice to have because it gives you a bit of momentum, a bit more belief," he added.

"As I said, it was a difficult game today against a quality side but we all know when the season starts, it's going to be all different. Another week to prepare and get going."

Questioned on whether the clash with Sociedad was a taster of what is to come in the league, Stanislas disagreed.

He said: "It's obviously a little bit different. The Premier League's probably a bit quicker. Their technical