Swifts boss sticks with players

Stourport boss Paul “Ocker” Davies has pledged to stick with his current crop of players despite a slump in form that sees the Swifts again hovering precariously above the drop zone.

Swifts’ defensive woes were compounded when they crashed to a four-goal reverse against Evesham last weekend – just one week after conceding another four to Barton Rovers.

But boss Davies is refusing to panic, insisting that he will sign defensive 

reinforcements only if he feels it is “absolutely necessary”.

He said: “We’re conceding too many goals – there is absolutely no doubt about that,” he said.

“But there is no need for us to panic about it yet. I am looking to bring people in but we’re not going to go down the route of bringing in player after player because I think we’ve got a good squad and I don’t want to make any knee-jerk reaction.

“My attitude to bringing players in is the same now as it was when we were winning – we’ll only bring people in if we feel that they’re going to add to our squad and can bring quality to the table.”

He signed defender Peter Wood on loan from Evesham this week in an attempt to bolster the back four and hopes the youngster can add steel to their side.

“He’s only a young lad but he’s looking for a few games which he isn’t getting at Evesham because they’re doing so well. He is a good player and we’ll have a look at him over the next few weeks to try and get an idea of what he can do for us,” he said.

‘Ocker’s’ efforts have been mainly concerned with keeping up morale in the camp after the dispiriting double defeats.

“I’ve told them that they deserved better. If I felt we hadn’t improved since I’d taken over then I would be looking to make changes,” he said.

“But we didn’t actually play badly at Evesham but we were punished for some naive defending.

“We started well enough and hit the woodwork but you can’t afford to concede goals the way we have done in the last few weeks and still expect to win games.”