AARON Ramsdale urged Cherries to "stick together" as he battles relegation for the third consecutive season.

The goalkeeper, 21, failed to avoid the drop from League Two whilst on loan at Chesterfield in 2018, before helping AFC Wimbledon to an incredible escape from the League One drop-zone during a temporary stay at Kingsmeadow last season.

And after a 1-0 defeat at Norwich City today, Cherries are now three points adrift of safety in the Premier League's bottom three.

Asked how his own character can help the squad through their current struggles, affable Ramsdale told afcbTV: "Not by forcing it. I'm not going to be loud and be stupid and clown about. That will just come with time in the week. That's through experience.

"It seems like I love a relegation battle at the moment with Chesterfield two years ago, Wimbledon and now this season. I've probably got the least amount of experience in the squad for playing in the Premier League but probably the most amount with a relegation battle.

"I know how it works and I know when to speak and when not to speak. This is a time to reflect on our own, not to talk behind each other's backs. If we've got something to say, say it to each other's faces because that's what teams do, that's what men do and we are. We ain't no school kids no more, we don't bicker or talk behind each other's back. We need to stick together and we're trying. That's all I can say."

Discussing what experiences he can draw on from his time at AFC Wimbledon, Ramsdale added: "The squad we've got, if you speak to them the right way, there's no big time players where they're just going to brush you off and not try and talk to you because you're a young lad.

"I'd probably say I'd speak more in a group meeting, rather than me going to pull Simon Francis because I don't think that would work too much. Because even though it was Wimbledon, it was League One, it's a completely different world.

"But for sure in group meetings, defenders' meetings or team meetings, I'll always have something to say or especially now we are really in the dogfight. I've got to try and remember what we did, relive those experiences.

"But it's a lot tougher because obviously the standard of quality in the opposition is higher. It's going to be needed more than just me, we need the XI to be on it every week."