Hitchin Town Football Club
Founded 1865, Reformed 1928
New faces needed as Hitchin are outclassed
Sunday, October 12 2003
Two defeats in a week have underlined the urgency behind Robbie O'Keefe's search for new faces at Top Field.
On Tuesday night, the Canaries were beaten by Hayes, just three days after a defeat at Carshalton Athletic. The Hayes game highlighted just how stretched Hitchin are at the moment, with defender James Ayres being pushed into an emergency striker's role.
O'Keefe is aiming to sign at least one new forward. "We are short of firepower and we need more options," he said. "But good strikers are hard to find and they cost money."
The Hitchin manager has been granted some funds, but at this stage of the season, the task is not an easy one. "Nobody wants to let players go if they are still in the FA Cup and it is hard for a club like ours to lure players away from other clubs."
But O'Keefe is confident that at least one new player will arrive soon. "I've been talking to players and we're not too far away from securing a good forward," he insists.
The problems keep piling up for Hitchin and Tuesday night's sending off of Adam Parker added to O'Keefe's worries. "We just cannot afford to lose players to suspension anymore. We have to be more self-disciplined on the pitch - referees are punishing us at the moment."
