WORCESTER City boss Andy Preece insists there is still time for fringe players to force their way into his plans ahead of the new season.

Preece will play his strongest available line-up for the visit of Walsall tonight (7.45) and will not make wholesale changes at half-time.

But, with Des Lyttle facing a possible ban and fitness concerns over Adam Burley (back) and Justin Thompson (ankle), there is still some tinkering to be done before the big kick-off on August 12.

"We've had one or two injuries and I'm still looking at a number of combinations," said Preece.

"It's hard to say what my starting line-up will be.

"We don't know about Adam, whether Justin is going to be fit and we don't know about Des' suspension. There's still a few places up for grabs."

In Tuesday night's 0-0 draw with Gloucester City, Preece made seven changes at half-time and replaced the other four starters with 20 minutes to go. But there will be no repeat in the remaining pre-season fixtures.

"I think it's the last time we'll do that," said Preece. "I'll be looking to put out as strong a side as possible. There will be one or two changes at half-time and we'll make changes towards the end."

City's player-manager has been impressed with his team's efforts in pre-season but will be looking for them to shift up another gear against their League Two opponents tonight.

"We are just looking to see if we can pass better," he said. "If we do, we can cause them problems.

"We haven't seen much of us as an attacking force against the league sides. It's a lot to ask but we are capable of causing teams problems.

"So we'll be looking for an improvement in that respect."

Preece watched his side dominate in the first-half against Gloucester but they struggled to maintain the momentum in the second period.

"It's difficult when you make a lot of changes," he said. "In the first-half we played really well and created a number of chances.

"We're showing an improvement in every game. I was really pleased with the first-half performance.

"The second-half was a bit disjointed but it was better than the second-half at Evesham. We didn't get any injuries and, all in all, it was a pleasing night.

"Craig Wilding had probably his best game. He is starting to get into it and his link-up play was good.

"Nick Colley did well and he could have had a couple of goals."