MANAGER Carl Heeley insists Worcester City will bounce back from their Boxing Day frustrations when they take on Gainsborough Trinity tomorrow (3pm).

City will be back at St George’s Lane barely 72 hours after going down 1-0 to M5 corridor rivals Gloucester City.

They have dropped to seventh in Blue Square Bet North and face a Trinity side who are two places better off despite losing 3-1 to Halifax last time out.

But Worcester are determined to return to winning ways and, in the process, set the record straight after losing 1-0 to a late Darryn Stamp goal at Northolme when the sides met back in August.

They will be spurred on by Gainsborough’s last trip to the Lane in March when strikes from Michael Taylor and Greg Mills gave City a 2-1 victory after a fine display.

Heeley said: “The players can either sulk about a game we should have got something out of or they can get their heads up and move on.

“That’s what I expect them to do and I’m sure they will. It’s a case of bouncing back, we’ve only lost a game of football.

“It’s disappointing but it’s not the end of the world.

“I’d certainly settle for a repeat of the home performance against Gainsborough last season because I felt, overall, it was our best performance of the season.

“That’s what we’re looking to do again and hopefully we’ll have a little bit more luck on our side and things will go our way for a positive result.

“We’ll bounce back, we’ve done that a few times. You win and lose games and whilst it’s frustrating when you’re on the end of a defeat, you’ve just got to get your heads up and go again.

“It only takes a run of three or four wins and it’s a different perspective. That’s what we’re striving to do and I’m sure it will come at some stage.”

He added: “We were beaten by a scrappy goal at Gainsborough and were a bit disappointed in our performance there. They’ll be a big, strong side, be very direct, they’ll play for set-pieces and we’ve got to deal with that.”

Defensive midfielder Rob Elvins is set to return to the side after missing the Gloucester game through suspension.

New signing Ashley Sammons could also retain his place in the squad following 18 minutes as a substitute on Boxing Day, while midfielder Matt Birley (knee) continues to improve but defender Shabir Khan (calf) is still out.