IF Worcester City are going to challenge in the league next season our home form has got to be better.

We have only won four times at St George’s Lane in the current campaign and were below par again in the 0-0 draw against Dorchester last Saturday.

We had a decent squad to pick from and it was a very poor performance and result. I expect better in terms of both performance and composure on the ball and those elements were probably more disappointing than the result.

It’s easy to blame the pitch, because it is very bobbly, but it is the same for both teams and the groundsmen do a good job under difficult circumstances.

We have got some big games coming up against Chelmsford, Bath City and Eastleigh, who are all going for the play-offs, and I would like to think we can get more points this month than we did in March.

Despite being down to the bare bones of the squad and having to use Carl Heeley as a substitute, six points from seven games wasn’t good.

But we have got to get over that now and I am looking to get a positive response from the players, starting at Chelmsford on Saturday.

I am close to having a fully fit squad for a change and, although Marco Adaggio will be suspended for the Weston-Super-Mare match on April 11, Matt Dinsmore is available again to play up front.

I have also spoken to some players about re-signing for next season but funds will dictate who I keep and who I don’t.

I am looking for a squad of 18 players who are going to compete next season and not just make up numbers on the bench. It’s going to be hard work but I am looking forward to it.

At the moment we have got 16 players and that’s not going to be enough so I will need to find ways of getting in two or three more and that might mean lower pay.

Looking ahead, Kidderminster Harriers manager Mark Yates and Mark Cooper at Kettering Town have agreed in principal to bring teams for pre-season friendlies and so too have Stoke and Birmingham.

Stoke enjoyed their time here last summer but we are not expecting their first-team, it will be a decent side made up of reserves and youngsters.

Meanwhile, I was at the fans’ forum before training on Monday evening and it was suggested we took on the best of the Worcester League in a friendly.

I think that’s a fantastic idea and something I have never thought about doing before.

In Danny McDonnell, Shabir Khan, Dinsmore, Gary Walker and Craig Brown, who are all Worcester people, we have probably got as many local players in our team as anybody in our league.

But it’s important we do get more coming through and a pre-season friendly against the Worcester League’s finest is an excellent idea.