Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter admitted he was delighted his hard work with the Cherries is starting to pay off in the green of Ireland.

Arter’s meteoric rise under Eddie Howe at Bournemouth has seen the 26-year-old rocket into international contention with Martin O’Neill’s Republic of Ireland.

After winning man of the match on his full debut against the Netherlands in May, he marked his first competitive start with another fine performance as Ireland defeated World Cup Group D qualification rivals Austria 1-0 in Vienna.

And Arter, who has played 11 times for Howe’s side in the Premier League this season, hopes his continued graft at Bournemouth pays dividends for club and country.

“I had to just keep on working hard with Bournemouth and I’m really grateful that Martin has given me my chance. Thankfully we got a positive result and hopefully he was happy,” he explained.

(Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)

“We didn’t have a great record in Vienna – in fact it was a very poor record, so it’s good to come here and get a result.

“The result puts us in a great position, and them, Austria, in a lot of trouble for the rest of the qualifying campaign.

“You looked at the group and you probably would have viewed them as one of the favourites, so it’s great to come here and take three points. That’s backed up a few good results before this game, so everything’s looking good at the moment.”

James Collins didn’t know a lot about Dimitri Payet when he first arrived at West Ham but one training session with the Frenchman was enough to show the Welsh defender what the Hammers were getting.

Payet was the standout player for West Ham last season, before going onto star with France at the Euros and earn a nomination for the Ballon D’Or.

While this season has been tougher for Slaven Bilic’s side, who currently sit 17^th in the Premier League, Payet has still produced a few moments of magic, most notably with an outrageous turn and rabona cross against Watford.

And Collins has revealed that it’s not just in games that Payet embarrasses players, having been on the wrong end of some sensational skill in training.

(Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

He said: “Dimi is a tremendous player. What he did for West Ham last season was fantastic and he was the catalyst for everything we did.

“He was setting up goals, scoring goals and the manager made a real point when he signed Dimi.

“He makes other players around him more confident and then what he did for France during the summer took him to another level.

“I probably realised how good he was in the first couple of days when he put the ball through my legs and turned the other defenders before putting the ball past the keeper!

“If I am honest I didn’t know too much about him when he first came but when I saw the things he could do, I knew he was a special player.”

New Hull goalkeeping coach Bobby Mimms is confident he can help plug up a leaky back-line by teasing the best out of his new charges.

Mike Phelan was appointed Hull manager last month but the challenge of keeping them in the Premier League got trickier after a coaching exodus at the KCOM Stadium.

Former assistant coach Stephen Clemence has rejoined forces with Steve Bruce at Aston Villa while Mimms’ predecessor, Gary Walsh, quickly followed suit.

But Phelan – who appointed former Blackpool manager Neil McDonald as his No.2 last month – has now replenished his ranks.

 (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

And Mimms believes keepers Eldin Jakupovic, current first-choice David Marshall, a fit-again Allan McGregor and Dusan Kuciak can improve on a record that has seen Hull concede 24 goals through their first 11 Premier League games.

“They’re all seniors so they have their own battles for that first-team spot, and that’s what the club needs,” said the former Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper. “You always need that competition, it’s healthy no matter what position but a goalkeeping group tend to work together really well and there’s a good friendly rivalry between them.

“Hopefully that brings the best out of them and they do learn from each other as well, they seem an open group.

“Mike (Phelan) has got a very good pedigree coaching wise, you don’t stay at Man United all those years if you don’t know what you’re doing.

“I’m looking forward to working with him and seeing how it all works, he has good ideas after sitting down to a chat with him so it should be interesting times ahead.”

Sunderland youngster Josh Maja is determined to catch the eye of manager David Moyes and earn a regular starting spot in the first team.

The 17-year-old has struck twice in his last two games, finding the back of net in the Checkatrade Trophy against Notts County and a match-winning goal against Blackburn Rovers for the under-23s.

And just a few months after making his first-team debut in the Black Cats’ EFL Cup victory over QPR in September, Maja is hoping he can continue his development in the Premier League.

“Hopefully my performances in the under-23s can push me to get a chance in the first-team,” he said.

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“My goals in recent weeks have been pleasing but I know there is still room for improvement. I need to keep scoring and working hard, that’s all I can do.

“I’m very happy because in training I have been working very hard on my finishing and it’s great to see that it’s paying off in games.

“It’s great to see the rewards in training. I want to contribute to the team and it gives you great confidence seeing the hard work you’ve put in is paying off.

“It was great to get my chance at QPR but I know there is still plenty of hard work to do.”

Ten years on from first becoming a board member at Burnley, chairman Mike Garlick believes the Turf Moor side are the best equipped they’ve ever been to cope with the rigours of the Premier League.

Sean Dyche brought in Steven Defour, Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Nick Pope during the summer transfer window, as well as breaking the club’s transfer record by signing Ireland international Jeff Hendrick for £10.5million.

But while Garlick, who became chairman in 2015, thinks his manager did good summer business, he admits there is still more work to be done.

“It’s all about quality not quantity,” he said. “It was always a case of getting three or four decent additions in that made sure come September 1 we were better than we were on June 1 and I think we achieved that.

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“There is a still a lot of work to be done and improvements to be made but we are getting there.

“I think the buys we made were of good value and value is the key word – not price.

“It got a little tense towards the end but ultimately we got what we needed.

“We have been planning already, so it’s on-going. We are always looking to add to the quality.

“But for all the fans, don’t expect any signings at one minute past midnight on January 1, because they’re not going to happen, so please be patient.”

Oussama Assaidi confused many Stoke City fans when he opted for the Middle East instead of signing for the Potters in 2015, but now the winger has revealed why he made the choice – money.

Assaidi joined Stoke on loan from Liverpool in 2013 after struggling to break into Brendan Rodgers’ team.

And he impressed in Mark Hughes’ first season with the Potters, scoring four Premier League goals in 19 appearances – including a dramatic late winner in a 3-2 victory against Chelsea.

Stoke tried to make the deal permanent the following summer but Liverpool’s asking price was deemed too steep and a second loan deal ensued.

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But with new winger Victor Moses on one side, an in-form Marko Arnautovic on the other and new signing Bojan in the middle, Assaidi’s stock quickly fell.

Hughes still wanted to make the deal permanent, but Assaidi opted to join Egyptian side Al-Ahly in January 2015 and the 28-year-old had clear motives.

“I asked Mark Hughes if I should take the chance. He told me that I was a real Premier League footballer, but the offer I received was maybe a once in a lifetime,” he said.

“I went for the money. I will not deny it. I hear others say they go to the Middle East for the sport, but who believes that?”

Walter Mazzarri has revealed it was the lure of Premier League football that attracted him to taking over at the Watford helm in the summer.

The 55-year-old, who has spent the last 15 years managing in his native Italy, switched to Vicarage Road from Inter Milan in July, and has helped the Hornets to their current eighth place standing in the top flight.

Prior to their 6-1 defeat away to Liverpool earlier this month, Watford had been enjoying an unbeaten stretch dating back to September, and face reigning champions Leicester City this weekend.

In 2013, Mazzarri took Napoli to a second-place finish in Serie A, their highest position in over 20 years, but it was the desire for a new challenge, he says, brought him to English shores.

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“I can say that I had a couple of requests to work for the most prestigious clubs in the Premier League but I wanted the programme, not just a seat on the bench, I wanted to work as I like,” he said.

“In Italy, I no longer had anything to prove to myself. As a result, I had to find new stimuli.

“The Premier League is the most important league in the world, one with great exposure, and if you do well here you can go anywhere.”

During his four-year spell at Napoli, Mazzarri enjoyed numerous Champions League ties at English stadia, most notably his side’s memorable defeat of Manchester City in the group stages five years ago.

The atmosphere had a lasting impact on Mazzarri, something he admits he was keen to experience on a more regular basis.

“I was fascinated, indeed struck, by the atmosphere of the English stadiums, before and during the matches,” he said.

“Each Watford game I seem to feel the same adrenaline rush as in the Champions League.”

Tony Pulis may have steered West Brom to mid-table so far this season but the Welshman insists their garden should be much rosier.

Tipped by many to go down and Pulis’ job uncertain with new owners coming in, it was an uncertain summer for Baggies fans.

But the team have done better than expected with three wins so far, including last week’s 2-1 victory against defending champions Leicester City.

However, Pulis thinks they should be well within the top half of the table and their 11th-place standing is due to their failure to see out games they deserved to win.

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“We’ve drawn too many games, that’s the problem, without a shadow of a doubt. This year we’ve been at Sunderland and should have won that game,” he said.

“In the first half Tottenham were very good, but after we got the goal in the second half we should have won that game. That’s two wins.

“We’ve had two draws from games we could have easily had six points.”

West Brom had been drifting towards the drop zone before their win at Leicester – where they showed a cutting edge on the counter attack and played with pace and purpose.

And Pulis wants to see his players produce more attacking football and take games by the scruff of the neck as they enter the winter period.

“I think the most important thing is we actually embrace the games and are not in any way, shape or form, on the back foot when the game starts,” said Pulis.

“We’ve got to go out there and be positive.”

Oriol Romeu believes his burgeoning relationship with the Southampton fanbase has pushed him on to greater heights this season.

The former Chelsea and Barcelona midfielder has been a stand-out attraction for Claude Puel’s side this year.

The 25-year-old has now scooped the Saints fans’ player of the month awards for both September and October, with the Premier League side sitting in the top half of the table and recently scoring a famous European win over Inter.

And Romeu admits he is loving life on the south coast as the Saints go marching on.

“I am very happy, again,” said Romeu after receiving his latest trophy. “It’s something nice and enjoyable to have, and it means the fans are happy with me and the team.

“We are all enjoying it and feeling the love we are getting from them and we just want to keep them happy and have more and more wins.

“We are all feeling very good on the pitch, we feel warm and we feel the supporters are behind us. That is something very nice and very good to have and we want to keep this relationship and make it stronger.

(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

“I’ve been happy and feeling every time a bit more confident and playing more and enjoying it.

“I just want to keep improving. The coach has given me games and minutes and I just want to prove to him I am ready to be there, to help the team and to do good performances.”

Blossoming under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola at Man City, John Stones is attracting praise from all quarters, this time from England colleague Gary Cahill.

Having moved to the Etihad in a £47.5million deal during the summer, the former Everton and Barnsley man has made 22 appearances for the Citizens and England this season, keeping nine clean sheets in the process.

Having partnered Cahill in the 3-0 win over Scotland on Friday, Stones’ international colleague was glowing in his praise for the 22-year-old.

“The potential is there for him to do whatever he wants to do,” said the Chelsea man. “There is no reason he cannot go on and have the career he wants to have. He is a different type of player but I think everyone is aware of his ability.

“He is a great lad off the pitch, personality-wise you have to look at that as well. Is he a boy who is going to take on advice from people? He certainly is.

“Again, another bit of your character – I feel he is a guy who can deal with criticism, who can be fine with that.

“He will learn from his mistakes and from the things he is doing very well, which is more than the mistakes.”