FRANKLYN Clarke insists his Blues squad must give a response to a recent downturn in form ahead of visiting Bournemouth Poppies tonight (7.45pm).

Portland United have lost their past two games 4-0 and are suffering from availability issues caused by Covid-19 and injuries.

The Blues go into this season’s third meeting with Poppies in need of a reaction to the slump in results, Clarke admits.

He told Echosport: “We’ve played them twice already this season, so both teams know what to expect.

“It’s just a case of who wants it more. It’s not about me asking for a reaction, it’s about the lads wanting to do it themselves for pride and to do it as a group.

“I’m sure they will want to respond with a good performance.”

Portland lost an FA Cup replay 3-1 at Poppies in August, despite hitting the woodwork twice and creating numerous chances.

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Clarke said: “They had however many chances they had and scored three. We hit the post and created lots, just couldn’t score.

“We’ve got to learn our lessons and hopefully when we get our chances we put them away and the scoreline looks different.”

Danny Griffiths (groin), Greg Borthwick (back), Ben Morris (hamstring) and Matty Burrows are injury doubts.