Swifts boss needs quality

Stourport Swifts boss Neil Hunt admits he needs to add more quality to his squad to keep them in Midland One next season.

The Swifts are again struggling to stay afloat in the division and after spending a couple of months analysing his squad Hunt has begun the overhaul he believes is needed to improve their fortunes.

Hunt has begun clearing the decks by releasing Scott Stamps and Adam Blake and has seen young forward Ryan Broadhurst leave for Stourbridge this week.

Coming in, the Swifts boss managed to add Lee Tonkins and has finally completed a deal for Evesham midfielder Steve Fitter, but still hopes to add more new faces.

“I inherited a squad of 16 or 17 players and while you can’t fault any of them for effort,

attitude or application, there are a few problems on the technical side and we do need to add players, definitely. At the moment the squad probably isn’t quite good enough.

“So I’m looking to bring in three or four and they’ve got to be better than the ones who we’ve let go.”

He believes Fitter is the type of player he is looking to add. “He’s a right or central midfielder who is a dead-ball specialist and probably one of the best at that in the league. He will add something to the team and he’s the kind of player we need.”

Swifts lost striker Broadhurst to Stourbridge this week but Hunt was not too upset to lose his young striker.

“To be perfectly honest it is a good opportunity for him to go to Stourbridge and I wasn’t going to stand in his way,” he said.

“The fact that we’ve lost Ryan actually frees up some space for us to bring more players in, which is something we need to do, so it isn’t the worst thing that could have happened.

“As for Ryan, I never saw the best of him, really – he only played once for me and he wasn’t a regular. At this stage of the season I need players who will be able to make a difference and Ryan is still developing.

“Whether he’ll be good enough to make a difference at Stourbridge, well the proof is in the pudding.”