STAR striker Lee Hughes returns for Worcester City at Stalybridge Celtic tomorrow (3pm) looking to continue the goalscoring form he showed before picking up a four-match ban.

And the 39-year-old has agreed a deal to stay with the Blue and Whites for the remainder of the season.

Hughes has bagged seven goals in eight starts for City since moving to the club at the start of September.

But his red card at FC United, his second of the season after being sent off for previous club Ilkeston, resulted in a four-match ban, which ruled him out of last weekend’s 3-0 FA Cup first-round defeat at Sheffield United.

Joint boss Carl Heeley said: “ We have Lee back for Stalybridge and we need him to hit the ground running.

“He’s also committed himself to Worcester for the rest of the campaign. We had spoken about this and Lee has been true to his word and shown great loyalty even though a couple of clubs had been in contact with him.

"We are aware of which clubs they were and that knowledge will be kept in the memory bank!”

City are currently bottom of the Vanarama National League North table and Heeley said they need to head to Stalybridge in the right frame of mind.

The joint boss said: “There can be no FA Cup hangovers this season because we need league points.

“There are reasons why we are down there. Players brought in during the summer didn’t perform like we thought they would and we were also hit by suspensions. That has to stop now and we have to start climbing the table.

“The whole cup run was enjoyable but it’s over now. At the start of the season, our aim was to get to the first round. We did that — drawing Sheffield United was an added bonus.”

With Hughes back in contention, there are likely to be changes to the side that started at Bramall Lane on Saturday.

And Heeley added that defender Tyler Weir came through that game unscathed after replacing Sam Minihan early in the second half.

“Tyler had no reaction to his foot injury,” the manager said. “Connor Gater was feeling some discomfort in his ankle after the game so we will assess that.”

Mid-table Stalybridge were also knocked out of the cup last weekend, losing 2-0 at Doncaster Rovers, and, like Worcester, have lost their last two league games.

They were beaten 5-0 by high-fliers Fylde but also suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat at the hands of struggling Telford.

Former Southport striker Steve Tames is their leading scorer with four of his six goals coming in the league and the others in the FA Cup.

City have an impressive record against Stalybridge, winning four of the last five meetings with Mike Symons hitting the only goal in the 1-0 win at Bower Fold last season.