Lancaster boss targets new recruits to build on good start

Lancaster City boss Phil Brown is closing in on a couple of new recruits as he looks to capitalise on his side's promising start to the season.
Lancaster City boss Phil Brown.Lancaster City boss Phil Brown.
Lancaster City boss Phil Brown.

The disappointing 2-0 home defeat against Ossett Town on Saturday ended a run of six straight Evo-Stik First Division North wins.

It was a performance that reinforced Brown’s desire for more strength in depth although new signings are unlikely before the FA Trophy first qualifying round tie at Stocksbridge Park Steels this weekend.

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A Lancashire derby follows quickly at Clitheroe on Tuesday night as the Dolly Blues look to kickstart another impressive run of form.

“After 10 league games me and Dave (McCann, assistant manager) were always going to reassess the squad,” said Brown, who watched the defeat to Ossett from the stands as he recovered from a virus.

“Saturday was 11 and if I hadn’t been ill we’d have had a chat with the players before then.

“We did that on Tuesday night though.

People will look at it and say before Saturday we were third and had won the last six in the league and had a decent cup run.

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“Game 11 was unacceptable though and highlighted what we’d been thinking.

“We’d been looking at recruitment and are talking to a couple of players.

“I’m not unhappy, we just need to keep on top of things.

“We don’t want throw away our good start and need to kick on.

“Saturday might be too soon but on Tuesday at Clitheroe I’d hope to have a couple of new faces.”

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Brown was less than impressed with what he saw from the Giant Axe directors’ box on Saturday as Ossett took all three points back to West Yorkshire.

“I’m not going to pull any punches,” he said.

“It was an unacceptable performance, just very, very disappointing.

“We were carrying a few injuries and picked up a couple more but that’s no excuse.”

Now City will look to bounce back in the cup against a Stocksbridge side most famous for having kickstarted the rise of Leicester striker Jamie Vardy from non-league front man to Ballon d’Or nominee.

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They are set to pose City with a stern test sitting fifth in the Evo-Stik First Division South and having dumped Clitheroe out of the competition 5-0 in the last round.

“Whether they’ve got the next Jamie Vardy or not I don’t know, it’s going to be a tough game and we need an improvement on Saturday,” said Brown.

“We’ve done well in cups this year and we go there in a positive mindset and are going there to win the game.

“We want that place in the next round.”

Ben Hudson, hamstring, and Louis Mayers, calf, are almost certainly out while Rob Henry and Ricky Mercer, both groin, are touch and go.

Jacob Davis’ persistent problem, a possible hernia, continues to be monitored.