RYAN Fraser believes he is reaping the rewards of a rigorous fitness regime after completing only his second full 90 minutes of the season.

The 20-year-old winger revealed he had been racking up extra hours in the gym and on the training pitch with boss Eddie Howe in order to add longevity to his performances.

Fraser, restricted to just two Championship starts so far this season, kicked off each of Cherries’ seven League Cup and FA Cup ties but had not played an entire first-team match since August prior to Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa.

And now the flying Scot is determined to use his impressive showing at Villa Park to push for a more regular role in Cherries’ promotion push.

Fraser told the Daily Echo: “There were a lot of positives to take but the biggest for me on a personal level was getting the full 90 minutes under my belt.

"I never seem to get in the whole game. I have always ended up with cramp or something so it was good that the fitness work I have done with the gaffer has started to pay off.

“He is getting me in to do a lot of running because a big part of my game is about chasing down people and I need to be able to do that from the first minute to last.

“I have been in the gym a lot too which has made me feel much stronger. I am getting quicker and lasting longer in matches. It felt good to play the whole game against Villa and I gained a lot of confidence from it.”

Meanwhile, Fraser admitted Cherries’ exploits in the cups had whetted his appetite for the big occasions.

“All the lads were well up for the game and hearing the crowd sing their hearts out gave us the confidence to go toe-to-toe with Villa,” he added.

“As soon as I found out there would be 6,000 people from Bournemouth I was absolutely buzzing. You don’t get occasions like that every week and the support was great.

“I hope there is more to come in the cups. I haven’t played as often as I would have liked in the league so the FA Cup gave me something to look forward to.

“I knew I had a good chance of starting at Aston Villa and playing on that stage gave me a real lift.

"If we can get promotion this season then we can look forward to playing at these stadiums every week so there is no better incentive for everyone to play their part.”