Ryan Fraser feasts on chicken to help build up strength as Bournemouth star says his summer diet made him weak

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Most players report back for pre-season training carrying a little extra weight from their summer excesses.

Bournemouth's Ryan Fraser, however, had gone too far the other way. Having subsisted like a rabbit on nothing but greens, the Scot came back too lean, too skinny and desperately short of the energy he needed.

So his manager Eddie Howe, having weaned Fraser off a diet of pizza and ice cream at the start of his Bournemouth career, found himself ordering the winger to binge on chicken, pasta and potatoes.

Bournemouth's Ryan Fraser scored twice in the victory over Everton on Saturday

And the added carbs have now been converted into a feast of impressive performances, with Fraser scoring twice against Everton on Saturday to propel the Cherries out of the Premier League relegation zone. 

The 5ft 4in Aberdonian, nicknamed 'Wee Man' by the Bournemouth fans, celebrated his match-winning contributions with a visit to Nandos - a choice all to do with keeping his energy levels high ahead of Monday's visit to Brighton. 'I changed it. I was eating a bit too healthy if I'm honest with you,' said Fraser of his diet. 'I was probably trying to get a summer body rather than a football body but I'm better now.

'I eat carbs and stuff like that. And maybe it was just not eating enough of that. You can eat anything you like in moderation with a game in two days, it's all energy.

Fraser scored his side's second goal when he cleanly dispatched a right-footed effort

'I'll probably have a Nandos. I'll take my mates, but only if they're going to pay for it!' Bournemouth certainly weren't short-changed by Fraser's contribution on Saturday as Sam Allardyce's unbeaten start as Everton manager came to a halt.

Fraser acrobatically volleyed home Joshua King's cross to reward Bournemouth's first-half dominance, only for Idrissa Gueye to equalise for the Toffees after the break. Just a minute remained when Fraser received a pass from Adam Smith and found the net via a telling deflection off Michael Keane's boot.

The win - Bournemouth's first in nine league games - lifted the pressure on Howe and he suggested Fraser's return to form is more mental than physical. 'Everyone is a confidence player but Ryan maybe more than others,' said Howe. 'He has certainly been in a good place in the last few weeks.

Nicknamed 'Wee Man', he was told to do his best to bulk up after his diet left him low on energy

'I think Ryan is growing in terms of performances, confidence levels, adding goals to his game. He looks like he has time on the ball and he's in total control of his movements.' Everton turned in by far the worst display of the Allardyce reign to date and their blunt attack was summed up by the fact Gueye's goal was their one and only shot on target.

They need goals and Cenk Tosun, their anticipated £25million arrival from Turkish club Besiktas, can't arrive soon enough. Everton play out-of-sorts Manchester United at Goodison Park on Monday but Allardyce was far from bullish about their prospects.

'If you're going to be successful in the Premier League, you've got to beat the teams below you and you certainly don't lose to them,' he said.

Fraser's 89th minute winner capped an excellent match for the former Aberdeen winger

'We've gone and lost against Bournemouth which puts more pressure to make it up somewhere and it may have to be against a bigger club.

'If we play our best then we'll have a chance. Sometimes if you play against a team as big as that you can have a good day.' Midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, who endured a difficult 18 months at Old Trafford before joining Everton in January, described it as a 'special game' but insisted he had nothing to prove to Jose Mourinho.

'I'm taking every game like it's a Premier League game, every game is important. I have a good relationship with the manager so there is no problem with that,' said the Frenchman.