Cherries captain Danny Hollands has issued a rallying call to his battle-weary troops – urging them to “stand strong” in the wake of the club’s injury problems.

Eddie Howe’s league leaders travel to Port Vale this afternoon (3pm), looking to extend their lead at the top of the table despite having to cope without a number of key players.

Central midfielder Hollands, who has recovered from knee surgery to take his place in the team, has watched as the likes of Jeff Goulding (ankle), Mark Molesley (foot), Sammy Igoe (knee) and Joe Partington (groin) have headed for the treatment room in recent weeks.

But following Tuesday’s defeat at Hereford, Hollands called on Cherries’ stars to show their resilience in order to remain at the top.

He told the Echo: “We’ve got a small squad but we’ve been through all this before.

“We’ve got to stick together as a group of lads. We do that well and we’ve got to make sure the 11 players that go on the pitch are ready and are going to do the job.

“We can’t afford to feel sorry for each other. No one else feels sorry for us so we’ve just got to make sure we stand big, do what we’ve got to do as soon as the whistle goes, play the 90 minutes and recuperate and make sure we’re ready for the next game.”

As well as the absentees, Ryan Garry (ill), Liam Feeney (thigh) and Steve Fletcher (knee) are all playing while below 100 per cent.

But the problems were eased slightly on Thursday when Cherries completed the loan signing of West Ham prospect Anthony Edgar, having been granted permission by the Football League to bring in one player.

The young attacking midfielder is likely to start alongside Hollands, who believes Tuesday’s defeat could help drive Cherries back on track.

“Losing a game was a bit of a kick up the backside for us really and we’ve got to make sure we’re better and more equipped to go again today and get the three points,” added the former Chelsea reserves skipper.

“We don’t like losing and it’s the second time we’ve lost in the league this year. We don’t want to feel like that again.

“We know it’s going to be a hard game but we’re going to make sure we stand strong, up the performance and hopefully go there and get the three points.”