EDDIE Howe has thrown his weight behind the Echo’s campaign to help convince the Football League to lift Cherries’ transfer embargo.

The Cherries manager yesterday became the first person to officially submit a signed back page petition – in the hope that the league may soon allow him to recruit some new players.

Speaking about the Echo campaign, Howe said: “It’s great.

“Anything that highlights and makes people more aware of our situation and how keen the supporters and everyone else is to get the embargo lifted can only be a good thing.”

With the club still operating under a strict transfer embargo, Howe is preparing to go into the start of the League Two season next weekend with a wafer-thin squad.

Last season’s loan stars Joel Ward and Rhoys Wiggins have long left Dean Court, while Shaun Cooper is a long-term injury victim and doubts remain over the fitness of captain and star midfielder Danny Hollands.

To add to the problems, Alan Connell and Scott Guyett have yet to feature in pre-season and all these absentees leave Howe with few options going into a campaign which promised so much, given the fine form Cherries enjoyed at the back end of last term.

Howe is hoping that – with the help of the Echo’s petition – Football League chairman Lord Mawhinney and his colleagues may end the embargo.

“We’ve had a difficult ride for the past couple of years and hopefully they (the Football League) will look at it sympathetically,” he said.

“Every close-season and pre-season you look to build a team to be successful.

“You talk to agents and players, and I’m looking to bring in two or three to strengthen and make us competitive.”

Howe was quick to point out that any lifting or relaxing of the embargo would not signal wholesale changes – just a few necessary additions to give Cherries a fair chance of flourishing under new ownership.

“We’re talking about two or three players,” said the young manager.

“You want the league to be a level playing field and unfortunately, at the moment, we’re being penalised.”

Cherries chairman Eddie Mitchell has asked us to point out that he was unable to speak to the Daily Echo on Wednesday as he was in dialogue with the Football League.

An online version of the Echo’s special back page petition will be available for supporters to download, print out and sign from tomorrow night.

Simply fill out the petition and either drop it into the Echo offices on Richmond Hill or send it to Neil Meldrum, Sports Desk, Daily Echo, Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, BH2 6HH.