STEVE Cook says former team-mate Tyrone Mings “deserved” his move to Aston Villa, adding – “he never threw his toys out of his pram here”.

Mings departed Cherries on a permanent deal this summer for a fee believed to be £26.5million, having enjoyed a successful loan spell with Villa in the second half of the 2018-19 campaign.

He featured 18 times for Dean Smith’s side, helping them clinch promotion to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs.

Mings, 26, played just 23 games during an injury-ravaged four-year stay at Cherries following his £8million arrival from Ipswich Town in 2015.

And he is set to feature against his former club when the two sides go head-to-head at Villa Park tomorrow afternoon (3pm).

And Cook, who played alongside Mings during his final Cherries appearance against Manchester United in December, is backing his fellow centre-back to enjoy a good spell in the Midlands.

Cook told the Daily Echo: “Ty’s a really good lad.

“To be fair to him, he never threw his toys out of his pram here. He was very professional and it showed when he went on loan.

“He probably single-handedly transformed Aston Villa’s defence.

“He deserved that move and I’m sure he’ll be very eager to put in a good performance, but hopefully our strikers will give him a tough time.”

Discussing Mings’ injury setbacks during his spell at Cherries, Cook added: “He had a tough time.

“He picked up a real bad knee injury at the start of his career here and then a back injury halfway through.

“He had it hard, but I think it’s probably made him and shaped him as a player now.

“He’s obviously gone from a left-back to a centre-half, which suits him.

“I’m sure he’ll have a good career at Villa.”

Cherries head to Villa Park tomorrow seeking their first win of the campaign, having been pegged back late on to draw 1-1 with Sheffield United at Vitality Stadium last weekend.

And having picked up just five wins on the road throughout the whole of 2018-19, Cook has called on the side to improve that stat this time around.

He said: “Our form last year away from home wasn’t great, so we want to build on that.

“We want to get that first win under our belt, so it’s an important match for us.”

Cherries switched between a back three and a back four during pre-season and opted for three central defenders for the opener against the Blades.

But having not registered a shot on target until the 59th minute last weekend, Howe could be tempted into a return to a more traditional back four.

Although Cook was pleased with the way Cherries defended against Sheffield United, aided by wing-backs Adam Smith and Diego Rico.

He said: “It’s something that we’ve done for the last few seasons. I thought with the back five we looked quite solid until the end when they had five or six attacking players on and it was difficult.

“But we’ve got to go again, Villa away next and it’s a huge game.”