DETERMINED full-back Jack Stacey insisted he would be ready if called upon for a starting berth in the Premier League.

The Cherries defender, a £4million summer signing from Luton, is yet to feature in England’s top-flight.

He did however make his debut for the Dorset club in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup second-round clash with Forest Green.

With Charlie Daniels ruled out for the rest of the season with a kneecap injury, manager Eddie Howe is now left with just three senior full-backs in Stacey, Adam Smith and Diego Rico.

Skipper Simon Francis and new recruit Lloyd Kelly are also recovering from respective knee and ankle problems.

Speaking about his quest to play at England’s elite level, Stacey told the Daily Echo: “Obviously everyone was devastated about Charlie’s injury. My role is just to be ready if I am called upon and I feel like I am doing that.

“I have watched the games and seen the level.

“It is a step up from where I have come from but on Wednesday, I felt like I did well. You can only go out and show it on the pitch.

“Wednesday was my chance to get out on the pitch and try to impress the manager and the fans - and I feel like I did that.

“He (Howe) is always giving me stuff to work on and we are doing stuff after training that he sees in my game that we can work on. It’s been really good.

“I am trying to learn from the players around me – the ones who are established Premier League players – so I can get to that level.”

Stacey could be involved in the matchday squad when Cherries make the trip to Leicester City tomorrow (3pm).

He added: “I am just trying to learn day in day out.

“We have done little things the manager said he used to work on with Smudge (Smith) when he first joined, so it’s almost following that same blueprint to get to that level.”