Bellingham, an ever-present in the Zamaretto Premier Division this season, was withdrawn shortly after scoring Brakes' 28th-minute opener in the 2-1 derby win over Rugby Town on Tuesday.

The 23-goal stiker left the pitch clutching his hamstring and there were fears that he could be ruled out for several weeks.

However, Holleran admitted the substitution was purely precautionary and expects Bellingham to be fit to face Truro tomorrow.

"He mentioned in the warm-up that it felt a bit tight," said Holleran.

"Bello's an experienced player and I'm an experienced manager and you don't take chances on a cold night like that. It's far better to come off early and get it treated. All being well he should be OK for tomorrow."

Bellingham's early departure did at least allow home fans to get a first proper look at replacement Matt Lewis.

The striker has been restricted to brief cameos since joining from Nuneaton Town in early December and Holleran admitted he was more than happy with the 25-year-old's contribution in difficult circumstances.

"Matt's a good player and a good pro," said Holleran.

"It's difficult when you're sat on the bench week-in, week-out and he hasn't had a competitive game for so long. But he's a clever player and he understands the game; you can see his quality. A lot of the good things we did in the second half came from him."

Lewis was on hand to set up Brakes' second following a fine flowing move, cutting the ball back for Luke Corbett to double the home side's advantage. However, a resilient Rugby pulled a goal back when the Brakes defence failed to deal with a free-kick to set up an anxious final 15 minutes.

And, while Holleran was delighted to see his side record back-to-back home wins for the first time this season, he is aware they will need to improve ahead of a tough run of fixtures.

"You can't knock the workrate. We huffed and puffed but we didn't keep the ball well enough.

"To be fair, they are a much-improved side. They were a lot more organised and they made it difficult for us.

"They were the second team to come here and play 4-5-1 and we struggled against it.

"After the break we had a good 20 to 25 minutes when we got the wide men further forward. We had a great move and a great goal, but then we gave away a sloppy free-kick and we haven't defended it well."

"But with the points we've picked up in the last week it's the first time there's been a big difference between us and the bottom four. We're well aware we've got to be better with the ball, but the players are putting the shifts in and there's more to come."

Brakes, who can move up to sixth if they beat Truro and other results go their way, are travelling down to Exeter this evening and staying overnight before completing the remainder of the 272-mile journey tomorrow.