Veteran striker Steve Claridge insists he still has a point to prove as he prepares to make his 1,000th career appearance for Bournemouth this afternoon.

The much-travelled 40-year-old has joined the Coca-Cola League One side on a month-long deal and is in line to appear against Port Vale at Dean Court today, nearly 21 years since he made his professional debut for the Cherries on the same ground.

Some 17 clubs, over 200 goals and three managerial stints later, Claridge is back where it all began and insists he has not pulled on his boots again merely to reach the four-figure milestone.

And the former Leicester, Birmingham, Millwall and Portsmouth star, who still bristles at being labelled a 'journeyman', insists he still has plenty to offer Kevin Bond's side.

"It's not a gimmick just for the one game. If I was just coming back for one game I wouldn't have bothered," Titchfield-based Claridge said.

"It's initially for a month, but the gaffer is approaching it with an open mind and hopefully it will be longer.

"I've just got a morbid obsession with football, I have done for over 20 years. People have this idea of me as a journeyman and I rarely get the credit I deserve.

"Whenever I've moved clubs it's usually been a move upwards, and because people wanted me. Whenever I go back to a club I've played for I get a good reception because I've scored an awful lot of goals and they know I was a good player for them.

"My reputation has preceded me for far too long, but I've worked extremely hard for everything I've done. Nobody's ever given me anything.

"I think the fans see something of themselves in me, I relate to them because perhaps I approach the game in the same way they would. I treat every game like it's my last and I never come off the pitch with any regrets.

"There's a good squad down here when everyone's fit and there could be some good times ahead for Bournemouth and I'd like to be a part of it.

"And the irony of it all is certainly not lost on me. It's fantastic the way it's all come full circle."

A pint of lager cost 77p and Band Aid's original 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' was number one when, as a raw teenager, Claridge was handed his debut by then Cherries boss Harry Redknapp as a substitute against Gillingham on New Year's Day 1985.

Fareham-born Claridge says he remembers nothing about that 2-0 win, but he has seen an awful lot of changes since and admits at times he had to curb his own wayward instincts to keep up with his peers.

"The pace, strength, the physical attributes and the actual ability of players now is all much better," added Claridge, who is eight days younger than the football's other favourite 40-something, Teddy Sheringham.

"My diet up until I was 26 was appalling. Then we went down to an army camp with John Beck at Cambridge and this one guy kept beating me no matter how hard I ran.

"I hate being beaten at anything and eventually I went back down there and beat him. But only because I started having three square meals a day, getting proper exercise and proper sleep. And I've done that ever since.

"Teddy shows the way to do it, keep playing as high as you can. Mind you, it's a lot easier when you surround yourself with good players."

Cherries v Port Vale match report in this weekend's Pink