JOINT-boss John Snape reckons the best is yet to come from Worcester City.

Having recently completed the first third of their league fixtures, City sit fourth and seven points off the Midland League Premier Division summit with up to two games in hand on their promotion rivals.

Snape acknowledged early progress had been disrupted by three red cards in as many matches last month and tweaks to the line up that has seen 29 players used in league matches.

But in spite of last weekend’s FA Vase exit against Highgate United, Snape believes Worcester have a solid platform to push on after a summer of upheaval.

“We have had a new side. We lost most of the players over the summer months and having rebuilt, we sit fourth with a game in hand over the three above us,” said Snape.

“We have the best defensive record in the league and have established ourselves as the third-highest scorers. Our goal difference is the best in the league.

“Our defensive record is not too bad and we’re averaging more than two points per game. The biggest let down has been the red cards and suspensions but that has improved over the past few weeks and will continue to improve.

“We haven’t seen the best of us yet and we have some good young lads coming through.”

Tomorrow sees City renew acquaintances with Highgate on their own patch (3pm) with Snape adamant the focus will be on performing rather than vengeance against a side that boasts a four-match winning run.

“There will be no knee-jerk reaction to Saturday,” said Snape. “We had a couple of poor spells that cost us dearly and the second goal made it very difficult for us.

“We finished the stronger side which was frustrating. All we can do now is get ready for this match.

“You want to win every game and we want to beat Highgate not only to give us a gap but also to take away some points from them.

“They deserved to win last week and now we will see what we are made of because it will be a tough place to try to get points. Highgate are riding high, they have put together a good run but we will be up for it.”

Jamie Smith trained this week and is back in contention, captain Brad Birch serves the final match of his suspension and Josh Sarmento should recover from illness with Snape unlikely to add to his squad ahead of the match.

“We have some irons in the fire but nothing has come to fruition yet,” said Snape. “It is a bit frustrating but we’re not looking to bring in loads of players.

“There are certain areas that would benefit from us getting in one or two lads.”