KIDDERMINSTER Harriers chairman Colin Youngjohns today issued a 'don't panic' message to worried fans who are criticising manager Ian Britton for the club's poor start to the season.

Hard-up Harriers were thrashed 6-1 at Hull City on Saturday to leave them without a win in their last eight matches.

The woeful run has resulted in the side tumbling to fourth from bottom in the Nationwide Division Three table with Britton taking the brunt of criticism from concerned fans.

Youngjohns said: "The directors fully understand our supporters' anxiety at our current predicament and have total empathy with them.

"They have, in fact, shown great support and restraint during a difficult period on the field and more of the same will give us the best chance of coming out of this barren spell successfully.

"We have good players and management here that have achieved much for the club in very difficult circumstances.

"After long experience in this game I have learned that patience and the ability to resist panic is usually the best course of action.

"I have said many times that life will never be easy for us at this level of the game because of our size and financial limitations.

"We cannot approach the solving of problems in the same way that larger clubs are perceived to do and that makes things very frustrating for our supporters.

Under-fire Britton was scathing about Harriers late collapse against high-flying Hull which led to their biggest Football League defeat.

He said: "I've known for some time that we have a soft underbelly and a result like this has been coming.

"I've been unhappy about our performances in the last 10 games of last season and now the first 10 games of this.

"We were a total, utter embarrassment in the last half hour. I felt sorry for the fans having to watch it. Hopefully, we've reached the depths and can't go down any further.

"I can't be on the pitch heading and kicking the ball. Some of our players including the seasoned pros need to look at themselves."