IN the six years I have been reporting on Worcester City, there have been few times that compare to the utter sense of apathy currently engulfing the club.

Seldom has the collective shrug of the shoulders been so evident around St George’s Lane.

Not even in the dismal days of the Richard Dryden era when fans virtually expected City to lose and enjoyed the victories when they arrived.

Now, following the most spectacular nosedive in form in living memory, it’s almost as if supporters have given up on this last season at the Lane, and it’s sad to see.

Back-to-back 3-0 home defeats against Boston United and Gainsborough Trinity, the latter watched by the lowest crowd of 536 in two years, extended City’s losing streak to seven games, and more than seven-and-a-half hours without a goal.

Nobody really knows why this has happened to a team once flirting with the play-offs to now wondering if they have done enough to stay up.

Everyone you speak to, including manager Carl Heeley, is at a loss to explain why City are in such a rut.

Someone has even suggested the Lane is getting its own back for the way it has been treated by previous boards.

Whatever the case, the last eight games look like being a damage limitation exercise as Worcester prepare for life at Aggborough.

Captain Stuart Whitehead said: “We’ve just got to try and stay positive and believe because I’ve been in a run like this with Carlisle United when we lost 10 on the trot. You just need a spark.

“You need strong characters when you’re going through a run like this because if you don’t you’re just going to sink.

“All you can do is give your best and hope the tide turns.

“We are getting sucked into the relegation situation so we need to sort ourselves out, make sure we’re safe and start progressing and building for next season.

“The ability is still there because it’s the same squad that was doing it at the start of the season.”

But the former Kidderminster centre-half added: “We have fallen short this year.

“Collectively, as a group, the standard of every individual has dropped below what is expected.

“Even players who were outstanding at the start of the season aren’t playing anywhere near their capacity.

“Everyone’s getting dragged under together, every little mistake is being highlighted and it’s shocking.

“We’ve just got to stay strong and in the end we will come through it.

“We’ve got to sort it out sooner rather than later.”

It can’t come soon enough for long-suffering City fans.