THE signing of Scott Guyett and pursuit of Chris Powell must be seen as positive moves in Cherries' bid to construct a solid base from which to prosper in League Two.

Kevin Bond's side have looked short on experience in defence throughout pre-season, something which was highlighted in a nightmare opening 11 minutes at Dorchester in midweek.

Solving this problem prior to August 9 was of the highest importance and the capture of Guyett, by all accounts a no-nonsense centre-half, should go a long way to plugging the alarming gaps that appeared at the Jewson Stadium on Tuesday night.

Guyett, 32, was born in England but raised and schooled in Australia from the age of five.

He classes himself as an Aussie and, given that, a fierce will to win is sure to be in evidence when he makes his Cherries debut at Eastleigh this afternoon.

Built like a second-row forward, on the evidence of yesterday's training session, Guyett is unlikely to think twice about putting his body where it hurts - a vital attribute on a cold trip north to Accrington or Chesterfield in the Football League's basement division.

He is an imposing figure and, coupled with emerging talent Jason Pearce in the middle of Cherries' back four, should form half of a good pairing.

With Warren Cummings on the transfer list and Lee Bradbury new to the position, Cherries looked light when it came to options for the full-back berths.

And Powell would surely be the perfect fit, providing vital know-how and passing on his nous to his young team-mates.

Boss Bond was castigated in some quarters for chasing the ex-Charlton and England left-back. It's understandable that fans would want to see young players brought through the ranks and given their chance to shine, but former international Powell would be an astute signing.

Almost all of the most successful football teams of the past could put their huge hauls of silverware down to building from the back, often with veterans coming to the fore.

Take Liverpool in the 80s and Manchester United and Arsenal in the 90s as examples. They all had great attacking options and were never short of goals, but they didn't leak too many either.

Age should be no barrier to success and, as history shows, it's a vital component in some of the finest defences.

No one was complaining when the old Arsenal back five of Seaman, Dixon, Adams, Bould/Keown and Winterburn were recording clean sheet after clean sheet into their 30s.

Neither were the dissenting voices out in force when Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister ran a tight ship at Old Trafford.

So the signing of a few older heads, particularly to bolster Cherries' back five, should be embraced rather than criticised.

It's not as if the side won't have a healthy youth element to it when the campaign gets under way.

With the likes of Shwan Jalal, Ryan Pryce, Pearce, Marvin Bartley, Josh McQuoid, Joe Partington and Brett Pitman all still very much in their formative years, the squad's average age is sure to be way below a number of their opponents.

But developing the right formula depends on finding the correct blend and, with the addition of Guyett and possibly Powell to follow, Bond could well have gone some way to discovering that.

A healthy measure of steel down the spine and a sprinkling of precocious talents elsewhere could be Cherries' recipe for success.