CHERRIES are hoping to arrange a pre-season tour to the exclusive resort of La Manga - with Sean O'Driscoll's squad partly paying their own way.

And the club are also offering supporters a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to spend six days in the sun with the Cherries players.

In an attempt to get the ambitious package off the ground, the players have already agreed to make a contribution towards their own accommodation costs.

But in order for the trip to go ahead, the club also need around 50 fans to join the players in the luxury sports resort in southern Spain.

Cherries sales and promotions manager Claire Thackeray said: "We feel this would be a fantastic opportunity for the players to start their preparations for next season. The facilities at La Manga are fabulous and specifically geared to the needs of professional footballers.

"Obviously the players are really excited about the prospect of going because they know it would give them a good start to the new season which is why they have offered to put some of the money up themselves.

"We also feel this would be an ideal chance for our supporters to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime holiday by spending time around the players and seeing what it is like to be a professional footballer during pre-season.

"Staying in three-bedroomed, shared self-catering apartments, the package will give our supporters an opportunity to observe training sessions and then play golf or tennis or to have lunch with a selection of the players.

"The trip is spread over six days with five nights at La Manga and costs £519 per person. We need to raise a large proportion of the funds ourselves and it would also be good if we could find a main sponsor.

"We feel this is a great opportunity both for the players and supporters and are really hoping to get this trip off the ground.

"But time is of the essence because we have made a number of provisional bookings and need to confirm them by Friday."

Flying from Heathrow to Alicante, the trip is scheduled to take place between July 2-7, and for more details, contact Claire Thackeray on 07941 987628.