NEIL Moss has declared himself "100 per cent fit and raring to go" as the gloves prepare to come off in the battle for Cherries' number one spot.

Moss is ready to renew rivalry with his close pal Gareth Stewart after hitting the comeback trail following an eight-week injury layoff.

The 32-year-old returned to training at the start of this week and lined up in the reserves' 4-1 victory over Forest Green Rovers on Tuesday.

Moss, who reclaimed his place from hapless Asmir Begovic at the start of October, had been sidelined after suffering facial and knee injuries in unrelated incidents in November.

He told the Daily Echo: "It was good to be back. Forest Green came at us and made it a really interesting game. Sometimes, reserve games can be a bit dead but it was quite lively and from a personal point of view, I got a lot out of it even though I didn't really have any saves of note to make.

"I felt confident and the few little things I had to do, I felt I did okay so hopefully it keeps me in the manager's mind and puts me in contention for Cheltenham."

Moss has always enjoyed a rare old battle with Stewart and despite their rivalry on the pitch, the pair have always remained very good friends.

"Gareth has come in and played a fair number of games since I got injured," added Moss. "We are different sorts of goalkeepers and it will be a case of which one the manager fancies.

"It will be his decision as to whether he feels that one reserve game and a week's proper training is enough for me to get back in. As far as I'm concerned, I'm 100 per cent fit."

With Cherries embroiled in a fierce relegation battle, three of their next four games are against the other teams in the bottom four.

Moss added: "Of course, we would much rather be challenging for promotion but these games are massive when you are fighting relegation.

"I thoroughly look forward to them because there is so much riding on every save and every mistake. I'm desperate to get back in and it's totally the manager's decision.

"Gareth has done his job in the games when I've been absent and I feel I did my job in the games once Asmir had gone back to Portsmouth. The manager has seen us both play a number of games and he'll make his decision come the end of the week."