MANAGER Jan Molby is convinced striker Tony Bird can fly high in Kidderminster Harriers scoring charts -- once he breaks his 'duck'.

The 26-year-old former Cardiff City and Swansea front-runner has yet to open his account for Harriers after 12 appearances -- a surprisingly lengthy lean spell for a marksman whose career has been laced with goals.

Molby, however, refuses to be ruffled by Bird's current drought and firmly believes that once he finds the target the goals will start to flow.

The Aggborough chief said: "Everybody writes about it but we don't talk about it here, it's as simple as that. Nobody makes any reference to it and he just gets on with it.

"He scores goals in training and hopefully one will come in the games.

"I would have thought that this is his worst spell, goalscorers don't normally go through it for this amount of time, but unfortunately he is at the moment.

"It's a nightmare from a striker's point of view. He's trying his hardest, maybe a little bit too hard, but I'm sure it will all come good in the end.

"The first one is always the hardest to get. But nobody inside the club makes anything special out of it.

"We are certainly not trying to add to his frustrations and there's no extra pressure on him from us."

Bird's inability to find his goalscoring touch has come at a time when Kidderminster are without last season's top marksman Ian Foster who is sidelined with a hamstring injury.

His treatment takes another direction tomorrow when he will undergo specialised manipulation on his leg.

If it fails to do the trick and he requires an operation then he could be ruled out of action for six weeks.

"We are just waiting to see what happens, but we are assuming everything is going to be alright," said Molby, who is likely to be forced into bringing in a fresh face if Foster needs surgery.

Kidderminster, meanwhile, continue to be dogged with injuries to other players as they prepare for this Saturday's Nationwide League Division Three trip to Lincoln City.

Regarding goalkeeper Tim Clarke, who is recovering from a knee operation, Molby said: " He is ready to be considered for action, but not this Saturday because it's a bit too early."

Defender Ian Clarkson and midfielder Gary Barnett, both suffering from hamstring trouble, did not train yesterday while Dean Bennett will continue to have treatment this week on a groin problem. The long standing injury, however, did not prevent Bennett from playing as a front-runner alongside Bird in last Friday's goalless draw with Rochdale at Aggborough.

Molby said: "We have just got to monitor the situation with him and make sure that it doesn't get worse."

Meanwhile, Harriers have confirmed that their home Nationwide League Division Three match against rivals Cheltenham Town at Aggborough on Saturday, November 4, will not be an all-ticket affair.

Harriers have also confirmed the visit of King-stonian for the J.C. Thompson Championship Shield clash on Tuesday, November 7.

The annual fixture is between the previous season's Nationwide Conference champions and the winners of the FA Trophy.