AFC Bournemouth vs Liverpool - Bournemouth have set sights on "greatest achievement"

Captain Tommy Elphick says Bournemouth have already set sights on bettering their "greatest achievement" of securing Barclays Premier League status for another campaign in the elite.

The Cherries host Liverpool on Sunday sitting in 11th place, on 41 points, after winning at bottom club Aston Villa.

Barring a miraculous run from one of the relegation battlers coupled with a string of Bournemouth defeats, that should already be more than enough to give Eddie Howe's well-worked squad another crack at the top flight.

Defender Elphick, who has just returned from four-and-a-half months out following an ankle injury, believes the way the south-coast club have approached the campaign is testament to a remarkable transition from near liquidation through promotion up from League One.

"The manager quickly reminds us of where we have come from and what got us to where we are, that is hard work and togetherness," Elphick said at a press conference broadcast on the club's official website.

"We have to show plenty of that to win as many games as possible between now and the end of the season, because there are some really tough matches coming up.

"We set a target ourselves at the start of the season to be safe by this stage because we have got a lot of real tough games in the final run.

"We are always looking forward to try to break barriers and set new markers; we have done that by reaching 41 points."

Elphick added: "This is by far the greatest achievement we have had to date, when you look at the teams we have been coming up against, the financial power of some of them that we have beaten, what we have done in the setbacks we have had with so many injuries.

"We are 11th at the moment and the aim for us is to finish as hard as possible who knows maybe break into the top of the table."

Elphick is determined to use his return to the side to build towards next season.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp wants to see the benefits of the miraculous Europa League win over Borussia Dortmund in the three Premier League matches - starting at Bournemouth.

And he believes this week provided an important lesson in the side's development.

"There are a few obvious things you learn like never give up," he added.

"You need things like this to believe in things. If you read it in a book you think, 'Oh nice', but it is really rare.

"It is a really big thing to be involved in something like this. Most footballers play their whole lives and are not involved in something like this but have successful careers.

"It is a drama in a positive way, you can use it in the next situation, but it does not mean it always works.

"The other thing is if you have the right plan you have to carry on.

"We didn't concede the goals because we played bad, we conceded the goals because we lost the ball in a moment where we tried to play football. Then you saw all of the quality and confidence of Dortmund.

"But that doesn't mean anything about your game - only we should not do this again. That is what you have to learn.

"If you are convinced about your plan, do it. Football is a game that doesn't work without mistakes, that is how it is, but you have to do as many things perfect as possible."