The Seasiders have won plenty of admirers so far in their maiden Barclays Premier League campaign, playing an entertaining brand of football and accruing an impressive 25 points from 17 fixtures to date following their surprise promotion via the Championship play-offs in May.

Several members of Holloway's squad have increased their stock and are likely to feature on some of his fellow managers' wish lists for January, but the Bristolian - who made a clutch of signings in August - wants to keep the group he has assembled together as far as is possible.

"I really can't tell you how it is going to go," Holloway said. "I don't know if anyone is waiting in the wings to try and steal some of my players.

"They would be stealing them, because they could have bought them last year. But now they might want to.

"If that happens - we'll have to wait and see. But we don't need any money or that sort of thing.

"We can keep going, although football evolves and your squad evolves. I'll be looking to see what might be out there, to see what we can do in certain areas.

"This time last year I added some strikers and I thought that got us up. If you look at what we have got at the moment, then I might need to try to do that again if I can.

"But I'd rather keep who I've got and work with them - we took long enough to get them in the summer.

"I've just got to be careful that we don't weaken."

One of the summer arrivals at Bloomfield Road was striker Marlon Harewood, who Holloway revealed has returned to light training as he continues his recovery from the hamstring problem that has kept him out of action since the end of November.

"We are trying to get him through this hamstring situation," Holloway said.

"He hasn't had them before but now he has had two since he has been with us.

"It was because of fatigue after we had worked him too quickly, too early and I take responsibility for that. He wanted to play and he said he was fit, and I wanted him in the team.

"Now we have to be careful, but if you throw him a ball, he wants to chase it. We've let him join in with things because that is how he is used to getting fit.

"He has already chipped in with five goals, so it would be nice to get him going again and get him fit.

"I do see with some of these games, I'll be able to put him in and give him a certain amount of time - very soon, I think."

Midfielder Elliot Grandin sustained a hamstring injury of his own in the 2-0 win at Sunderland on Tuesday and looks set to miss the Tangerines' upcoming run of three games in eight days - although Harewood could feature.

"We're hoping it is not as bad as it could be," Holloway said of Grandin.

"We brought him off quickly, but there is some sort of hamstring damage that we don't know yet.

"We might have to send him off for a scan, but it will probably be the next three games that he won't be available for because they are all coming so quickly.

"But if I have to tickle Marlon through maybe the last one of them because Elliot is not fit, I might have to do that."