RYAN FRASER admits his Bournemouth career was hanging by a thread at the start of this season.
The 23-year-old joined the Premier League from Aberdeen in January 2013 but initially struggled to shine in the first-team as he adapted to life in England.
Fraser made just six starts during Bournemouth’s Championship-winning season in 2014/15, before being farmed out on loan to Ipswich Town for the following campaign.
However, he has dazzled this term and was recently rewarded for his form – including stand-out displays against Arsenal and Liverpool – with a new contract at the Vitality Stadium until 2021.
Only a knee complaint stopped him from making his full Scotland debut during last week’s games against Canada and Slovenia, and Fraser confesses he is relieved with the way his “make-or-break” season has panned out.
He said: “If it hadn’t happened for me this season then I think the gaffer [Eddie Howe] might have said that was it. I have been here four years and had my ups and downs.
"If I hadn’t made an impression this season, I would only have had a year left on my contract and, you never know, they might have tried to sell me. I don’t know, I didn’t ask.
“It was make or break for me and, luckily, I got my chance and have been rewarded with another contract.”
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