JOINT-boss John Snape insists he is happy to soak up more stick from Worcester City fans — particularly if that means boosted numbers through the gate.

There were cries from the crowd for Snape to make his third and final substitution around 20 minutes from the end of Saturday’s scrappy 1-0 win over Lye Town at the Victoria Ground.

Frustration built as City lacked the cohesion to run away with victory, instead having to dig deep on a difficult playing surface against stubborn opponents.

Snape acknowledged the performance in the Midland League Premier Division clash had been short of usual standards but was adamant he could have asked for no more effort.

“Firstly, it was three valuable points. People complained saying we should make a change but we had already made two,” said Snape.

“I did not want to make that last change too early because Jordan Stoddart had already gone down a bit earlier. I did not want to leave us with 10.

“People get frustrated. We were winning the game though and we made the better chances.

“Nothing is definite at 1-0 but while Lye huffed and puffed I cannot remember a clear chance for them in the second half. The closest they came was when their lad got in behind George Forsyth.

“There were more than 300 there which was fantastic and I would like to see more. If that means I get more stick then so be it.

“As long as I think the lads are giving their all then I’ll back them.

"It was not magnificent football but maybe we have made rods for our own backs because we have played some superb football at times this season, especially at home.

“We have scored a lot of goals and the frustration perhaps builds on the occasions when that doesn’t happen.

"This was one we had to grind out, maybe the nerves came in because of the sucker punches against Bromsgrove Sporting last time we played but we saw it through.”

Assessing the performance, Snape added: “It was definitely rusty but we had people like Mat Birley and Alex Tomkinson who really needed minutes and it was pleasing to see them come through unscathed.

“Wayne Thomas was great, Jordan gave his all, Nathan Hayward was excellent and Brad Birch was still running in the last 20 seconds to get the ball in the corner.

“We didn’t get it out of our feet quickly enough and them cutting out passes that we might have played a bit longer combined to hinder us.

“Lye have ran and ran throughout as well and credit to Craig Harris (manager), who I know well from my Halesowen days. He set them up to nullify us.

“We were off it but there was a massive amount of heart there to make sure we won.”