GRAHAM Turner has called on his goal-shy Hereford United side to keep believing.

The Bulls have failed to score in 574 minutes of football, a barren spell that stretches back six games.

On-loan striker Steve Guinan was the last Hereford player to hit the target in the 3-2 loss at Hartlepool on March 3.

The drought has seen the Edgar Street club, who have not won a game since February 20, drop from play-off contenders to 17th in the table.

United chief Turner, whose side host Boston United on Saturday, said: "We have had a poor run. There's no easy answer to it.

"All we can do is to encourage players to get into good areas and sooner or later they will start to go in.

"We are not the only side that's ever suffered from a goal drought but the most important thing is to keep believing. A run of games without a victory is not something we have encountered very often over recent seasons. However, we now find ourselves in the middle of a very unpleasant experience.

"In analysing this period, we take into consideration the standard of opposition - we have played nearly all of the top sides over recent weeks -and the general level of our own performances. The obvious thing that is lacking continues to be goals. While we have defended reasonably well, our goals for column has dried up."

Turner, though, is quite pleased with the way his team has been playing after holding third-placed Swindon Town to a 0-0 draw on Saturday and losing 1-0 at Walsall, currently second, on Easter Monday.

He said: "I don't think we have played too badly recently and I thought that applied to the game on Monday at Walsall. We played quite well and couldn't put the ball in the back of the net.

"In most of our matches we have created chances. Good goalkeeping, bad luck and, on occasions, just poor finishing have caused us from going from possible play-off contenders to a bottom-half-of-the-table team."

Defender Dean Beckwith is suspended for the visit of third-from-bottom Boston and the trip to Peterborough on Saturday week after being sent-off against Walsall.

Richard Rose, who came on for Alan Connell at the Bescot, is a possible replacement.

Rob Purdie is struggling with a groin problem and is a doubt but on-loan midfielder Steve Jennings could feature after sitting out the Easter weekend following medial ligament damage.

Cash-strapped Boston travel with just 10 senior players after failing to keep on-loan Barnsley forward Nathan Joynes.