EDDIE Mitchell will resist the temptation to put out the begging bowls but says Cherries supporters could still play a part in helping the club eat into its inherited debt mountain.

Mitchell insists the club will not follow the lead of Accrington Stanley which has launched a fighting fund after being set an eight-week deadline to pay a tax bill or face going out of business.

Cherries are currently in the process of reducing their outstanding commitment to HM Revenue & Customs after receiving a winding-up petition stay of execution until October.

And while Mitchell admits they are finding it “difficult” to meet their obligations to the tax man, he says supporters can do their bit by turning out in their numbers to watch Eddie Howe’s men.

Chairman Mitchell says an attendance of around 6,000 for Saturday’s visit of Lincoln would go a long way to helping the club overcome its first hurdle of paying off football creditors.

Mitchell has been juggling the club’s finances ever since he became majority shareholder following the Murry Group’s takeover just over 11 weeks ago.

He told the Daily Echo: “I’ve spent a considerable amount of time talking to the tax office and have been advised it would be prudent to pay off as much as we can, as soon as we can rather than paying a lump sum.

“If we have shown willing and paid all we can afford, they may extend the time for us to clear the rest. It’s going to be difficult but it will help if they can see regular monies coming in and that’s what we’ve been doing.

“The tax man holds the key to our success, while paying off the football creditors may help us with the embargo.

“If we could get an extra 1,000 on the gate on Saturday, we should have enough to clear the football creditors and send some to the tax man. That’s the importance of getting extra people through the turnstiles.

“We did a cash-flow this week and, without the current liability and outstanding debts, we would have broken even this month, which is a really good sign.

“We’re fighting on all fronts but our hands are tied while we’ve got the football creditors outstanding and getting extra people through the turnstiles would go a long way to solving this.”