BOSS Jimmy Quinn wants Cherries to keep the heat on their relegation rivals as they prepare to embark on a challenging festive campaign.

Cherries meet League Two high-fliers Rochdale, Bury and Brentford in the space of the next 14 days before bringing down the curtain on 2008 against fellow strugglers Barnet.

And although they also face a tricky FA Cup second round replay at Blyth Spartans on Tuesday, Quinn insists preserving their Football League status must remain the priority.

He said: “It’s a much healthier situation now we’re in plus points. We’re within striking distance and have given ourselves a chance to catch the teams above us.

“If we can pick up a few more points between now and the start of next year, I would be pretty confident that we could get the results we need at the business end of the season.

“It would be nice to have a cup run but the league is your bread and butter and staying in this division is of paramount importance to us.

“You can talk all day long about cups but it would be no good beating Blyth and Blackburn if we were to end up getting relegated.”

Darren Anderton’s stunning matchwinner against Chester helped Cherries narrow the gap on third-from-bottom Grimsby to seven points.

But with three of the top eight on the horizon – starting with tomorrow’s trip to seventh-placed Rochdale – Quinn knows Cherries must keep their focus.

He added: “We’re not the worst team in this league, we’ve known that all along.

“There are a lot of games to be played and a lot of points to be won. We’ve just got to stick together.

“We’re five games unbeaten, even though we’ve drawn a few. It’s important we put in a good performance against Rochdale.

“They are a very good footballing side and we always seem to do well against the teams that like to get the ball down and pass it.

“It will be a different kettle of fish to the Chester game because they tried to get something either from a set-play or on the counter attack. I’m sure it will be a good game.”

Quinn is hoping to have Sammy Igoe, Scott Guyett, Jason Pearce and Ryan Garry available for the trip to Spotland.

The quartet have all been laid low by a virus, with defenders Guyett, Pearce and Garry added to the sick list this week after the bug had kept Igoe out of Cherries’ 1-0 win over Chester.

Danny Hollands, who required four stitches to a shin wound, will also travel despite missing training yesterday, as will Marvin Bartley who is rated by Quinn as “touch and go” for Rochdale due to a hamstring injury.

Meanwhile, Quinn will hold talks with Michael Symes regarding the possibility of extending his loan spell with the striker’s first month due to expire following the trip to the North West.

Cherries: (from) Jalal, Ward, Guyett, Pearce, Garry, Cooper, Molesley, Hollands, Tubbs, McQuoid, Bradbury, Pitman, Symes, Cummings, Connell, Preston, Lindfield, Partington, Pryce.

Rochdale: (from) Russell, Ramsden, Holness, Stanton, Kennedy, Buckley, Keltie, Toner, Rundle, Le Fondre, Jones, Dagnall, Thorpe, Shaw, McEvilly, Wiseman, Thompson, D’Laryea, Spencer.