Bournemouth icon Steve Fletcher admits it could be an emotional evening for him on Thursday when he sees the club he has served almost non-stop since 1992 step onto the European stage for the first time.
The Cherries will visit Real Sociedad in the Europa League after securing a top-six finish last team to earn qualification.
Bournemouth's campaign looked to be stalling going into the new year, however, with Andoni Iraola's side having gone without a league win in their previous 11 games, stretching back to October.
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“There will be a lot of emotion when we play that first game in Europe"
But Semenyo's 95th-minute winner in a 3-2 victory over Tottenham just two days before he completed his transfer move to Manchester City turned the tide, with Bournemouth going unbeaten all the way through to the end of the season to secure 6th place.
Speaking to FourFourTwo, Fletcher said: “It was an incredible night. You couldn’t write it for him to score that goal as well. It was such a relief to win, because we hadn’t won a game for a while. But even before that, despite not winning, our performances had been improving.
“The boys were incredible when that moment came and Antoine left.
"We were so happy because he deserved his big move – the lads understood that we needed to step up and you could already see it happening in the performances.
“We went into every game thinking we could get three points because the team was full of confidence.
“We did very well at keeping the noise out of the camp and concentrating on our performances. In the last three games, we knew what we needed to do. We actually performed better under pressure.”
“To finish in a Europa League place and celebrate on the pitch with the staff, players, everyone associated with the club and all the fans was incredible.
“I don’t think it properly sank in until a couple of days later when I started going out on the streets and into supermarkets and restaurants, and people came to talk to me about it. The magnitude of what the club and that team achieved will live forever.
“There will be a lot of emotion when we play that first game in Europe.
“Personally, I’ll probably shed a tear and try to capture the moment as much as I can.”
Fletcher was speaking in association with MrQ, the new official sleeve partner of AFC Bournemouth.
