GRATEFUL Cherries skipper Tommy Elphick admits he “owes a lot” to Cardiff boss Russell Slade for keeping a relegation off his CV.

Elphick was part of the Brighton side that were stuck in the League One relegation mire in 2008-09 before Slade arrived at the beginning of March and guided the Seagulls to safety.

Slade was sacked in November following a poor start to the new campaign but Elphick, who will come up against his former boss at Dean Court tomorrow (3pm), has not forgotten the impact the boss had.

And the centre-half says that Cardiff’s improvement under Slade since his appointment in early October is anything but a shock.

Elphick told the Daily Echo: “I worked with Russell Slade at Brighton and he was very good when he first came in, and got dealt quite a harsh hand when he left.

“He’s a very good manager. He’d have gone in and got them fired up and wanting to work hard for him.

“I haven’t got a bad word to say about him. He was very good with me personally and put a lot of faith in me.

“He worked wonders at Brighton the season when he came in and those points in your career can be pivotal.

“If you’ve got a relegation on your CV it doesn’t ever look good and I might not have ended up here today. I owe a lot to him for keeping us in the league.”

Elphick, 27, could come up against one of his best mates in football this afternoon in the form of Cardiff’s Craig Noone.

The winger played alongside Elphick at Brighton and at the end of November signed a contract extension tying him to the Cardiff City Stadium until 2018.

Elphick added: “Nooney’s move to Cardiff has been good for him. He’s getting back fit and flying again so he will be a threat.”