Eddie Howe: 'Bournemouth players won't be starstruck by Real Madrid'

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe is not concerned that his players will feel starstruck when Real Madrid arrive at the Goldsands Stadium this Sunday.

The recently-promoted Championship outfit are preparing to face the Spanish giants in a one-off exhibition match as part of their pre-season preparations.

While the Madrid stars who competed in the Confederations Cup are expected to be absent, Howe's men are due to play against former FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

Speaking to reporters at the club's training ground, Howe said: "I don't think they will be [starstruck]. We're going to treat it like a normal game and try and take the game to them.

"I think if it was a cup competition, and we were desperate for the result, I think we would probably park the bus, but we want to excite our fans and try to entertain them. That's if Real Madrid are good enough to give us the ball at times."

Following yesterday's training session, Sports Mole spoke to defender Steve Cook about the upcoming fixture. The 22-year-old's thoughts can be found here.