NOW that the dust has settled on John Barton's sudden exit from St George's Lane, the spotlight will be shining in the direction of Dave Boddy over the next fortnight.

Worcester City's chairman has been in the hot seat for little over a year, working tirelessly to save City's future by trying to improve its ailing finances while maintaining the long fight to relocate the club to a new stadium.

But whereas those off-pitch difficulties nag away on an almost daily basis, Boddy's latest predicament is an altogether different matter.

The biggest problem he now faces is putting the right man in charge of team affairs to stop a once promising season ending in disaster.

While it is clear Worcester require a manager capable of taking the club forward in the long-term, there's no disputing that the new boss needs to produce the goods from the off.

Of course, newly-installed managers at any football club need time to mould a squad they believe can move things onwards and upwards.

But, right now, City need somebody to stop the rot quickly because the club is in free-fall and facing the very real prospect of a relegation battle in Nationwide North.

They have lost their last their last three games -- against Hednesford Town, Nuneaton Borough and Harrogate Town -- quite convincingly, bringing about an almighty shortage of confidence among the players.

City's 2005 record would have read played five, lost five, but for the acrobatics and reflexes of goalkeeper Danny McDonnell in the woeful 2-2 home draw with Ashton United.

They are just nine points away from the play-offs, but only the most optimistic City supporter can seriously consider promotion a viable end-product in these uncertain times. A likelier scenario is that City will get dragged nearer to the basement zone, especially if the recent poor run of results continue.

With tricky league fixtures against Worksop Town, Southport and Alfreton Town to come, there is a grim possibility that City could drift into the bottom five.

That was unthinkable earlier in the campaign when City held the last unbeaten tag in the division.

Performances became stale over the winter period and Barton confessed to taking the team as far as he could after five years at the Lane.

As difficult as it sounds, whoever comes in to replace Barton now needs to stabilise the club's precarious league position. If he can deliver encouraging performances along the way, that will be a bonus.

The new guy will almost certainly have to work under the same stringent financial conditions that ultimately led to Barton, frustrated in his bid to strengthen his squad this season, quitting the post.

But despite the tough cash limitations, the chance to become manager of Worcester City Football Club is still an attractive proposition for many ambitious managers. The apparent flood of applications landing on City's letter-mat only confirms that.

It is now down to Boddy and his board of directors to nail down the person qualified to breathe new life into the club.