JOHN Barton may be forced to use his young guns again as Worcester City travel to Droylsden in Nationwide North tomorrow aiming to land their first away win since August 17.

Up-and-coming midfielders Tom Warmer and Liam McDonald will both be vying to start at the Butcher's Arms in place of player-coach John Snape, who begins his three-game suspension following his rash sending off against Altrincham.

Defender Shabir Khan will also be on standby to slot in to central defence if City captain Carl Heeley fails to shake off a hamstring strain picked up in the FA Trophy victory over Chippenham Town last Saturday.

Barton described Snape's absence as a 'huge loss' in midfield but insists his less experienced players are more than capable of making their mark.

He said: "I would like all the time to have every player available but we have not had that this season because of injuries. It's disappointing not having Snapper because, this time, it was self-inflicted.

"It's a big loss because we would liked to have had his presence at Droylsden. Opportunities are now going to crop up for other people and whoever gets that opportunity has to ensure that they take their chance."

Worcester have won their last three competitive matches, all at St George's Lane, and are unbeaten in six following the 3-0 triumph against Chippenham.

However, the previous time City enjoyed a long unbeaten run, it was a trip to the Tameside borough of Greater Manchester that eventually proved their undoing.

Droylsden's neighbours Ashton United were the first club to beat City this season with an ugly 1-0 victory, a confidence-sapping result for Barton's men which was swiftly followed by defeats against Worksop, Harrogate and Cambridge City, the latter in the FA Cup.

The Bloods are regarded as a tougher nut to crack than Ashton and are currently in ninth position having won five, drawn seven and lost three this term.

Armed with prolific striker Jody Banim, Droylsden have leapfrogged Worcester as the division's most potent goalscorers with 28 goals to their name.

Barton added: "This is arguably our toughest fixture for quite a few weeks and it will be a test for us to see if we can keep our unbeaten run going. We will be going there to at least get something out of the game.

"All I know about Droylsden is that they are above us in the league, so they must be doing something better than us. I suppose they are one of the more typical Northern sides and they obviously know how to score goals."

Droylsden are hopeful of adding both Lutel James and Stuart Howson to their squad ahead of the game.

Bloods chief Dave Pace has reached agreements with Accrington Stanley counterpart John Coleman to take them on a permanent basis. Howson had been on loan at the Butcher's Arms before he was recalled prior to Droylsden's FA Trophy victory against Leek Town.