MARC Pugh moved up only one division when he joined Bournemouth from Hereford United five years ago. But while his old club went into liquidation last month, the Bacup-born midfielder knows he now stands within touching distance of the Premier League.

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Devastated to be released by Burnley boss Steve Cotterill as a youngster without ever getting the chance to pull on the claret and blue shirt at senior level, Pugh plied his trade almost exclusively in League Two before stepping up to the third tier to join Bournemouth at the end of his contract with Hereford in 2010.

The south coast club complained bitterly when a tribunal forced them to pay £100,000 for Pugh’s services, but the 27-year-old will repay that fee many times over if he helps them claim the £120m jackpot on offer for promotion to the top flight.

He arrived at a club only just starting to emerge from their darkest days when they spent months in administration and then needed Eddie Howe to save them from almost certain relegation to the Conference.

Now, with Howe finishing what he started after returning from Burnley for a second spell, the Cherries sit top of the Championship. This a club who have never played in the top flight and have the lowest average attendance in the second tier.

If Burnley’s promotion last season was impressive enough, Pugh admits it might be the most remarkable story of all if Bournemouth can complete the job and reach the Premier League.

“I think so,” he says. “Burnley are a big club who had been in the top division for a lot of seasons.

“For Bournemouth, last season was our highest ever league position.

“From where we came from the year before I arrived, with the club in administration, I think it would be the biggest achievement.”

Pugh admits his expectations were a little more modest when he joined Bournemouth.

“When I signed the club had just been promoted into League One and were just looking to consolidate, but we made the play-offs that season,” he says.

“I had doubters early in my career who didn’t think I was good enough so I just wanted to show people that I was a good footballer.

“I hope I am doing that and it would be fantastic to have on my CV that I’ve been part of a team that have been promoted to the Premier League.

“It’s very tight at the top and we don’t want to have to go into the play-offs because we know how brutal they can be.

“It would be amazing to play on the big grounds every week in the Premier League, so we’re going to do everything to make it happen.”

Pugh has scored seven goals from midfield this season, including a hat-trick in their 8-0 victory at Birmingham City in October.

“To win 8-0 was brilliant, it was the club’s record win,” he said.

“It was weird really, when it got to five or six we looked like scoring from every chance we got. It could quite easily have been 12 or 13.

“I had two goals and then we got a penalty and one of the other lads grabbed the ball! But luckily I got the chance to get my hat-trick after that. My mum and dad come and watch me anywhere down to the Midlands – it’s a five-hour trek to Bournemouth – and they were there at Birmingham. It was great for them to be there for that.”

A minor injury ruled him out of Sunday’s FA Cup tie at Aston Villa.

“It’s great to play against the big clubs but the main thing this year is to try to get promotion,” he said.

“The manager is a fantastic coach, he works ridiculous hours on the training ground to improve us.

“I was really sad to see him leave for Burnley a year after I got here, and delighted when he came back.

“I’ve got so much respect for him as a person as well as a manager.”

For Pugh, the ultimate dream would be to face Burnley in a Premier League fixture next season.

“It’s the place I’m from and the club I supported as a boy,” he says.

“It’s always the first result I look for and Burnley have held their own this season.

“It would be fantastic, to go back to Turf Moor and play them in the Premier League.”