A BAD case of the goalscoring blues is plaguing Worcester City ahead of tomorrow's clash with Tiverton Town at St George's Lane (3pm).

City's inability to score enough goals last season has returned to haunt John Barton's side and he admits he's no nearer to solving the problem.

Despite a promising start to the Dr Martens Premier Division campaign with five wins, third place City have chalked up just 10 goals in eight games despite creating a number of chances.

Pressure is inevitably growing on front pair Leon Kelly (3) and Mark Owen (1), who have just four goals between them, but the duo should not bear the entire brunt of criticism for missing chances, insists Barton.

"Last year scoring goals was a problem and it looks like it's a problem again," he said.

"If you look at a return of 10 goals from eight matches from a side that was top of the table that is clearly not enough especially when you consider the chances we've had.

"By definition the responsibility lies with the strikers but I don't necessarily see it exclusively like that because the shape of the side has been set up with the balance going forward for the likes of Adam Wilde, Adam Webster and Darren Middleton to also get on the scoresheet."

City have been relying on Kelly and Owen's pace to get in behind teams but Barton is demanding more precision in their approach.

"When you are trying to play down the sides and over the top the ball has got to come from decent positions not just from the back which is what has been happening," he said.

"We need to show more guile to get people into goal-scoring positions but there has been nothing wrong with the amount of chances we've created. The problem is we are not converting them."

Mid-week starts for David Foy and David Holmes plus appearances by Stewart Hadley, Pat Lyons and Darren Middleton give Barton scope for change but City's manager is playing his cards close to his chest.

Paul Carty may return in defence if he passes a pre-match fitness test on a hamstring injury.