IF a week is a long time in football then God help anyone following City over the last seven days -- it must feel like an eternity.

John Barton's side have dished out the thrill of a superb comeback against Havant, plunged to the depths of despair following a sorry defeat at Bath and finally suffered FA Cup heartbreak at the hands of Hucknall.

Of the three, the Hucknall game must rankle the most because it was one of City's better performances in recent weeks. But the name of the game is goals and Worcester are currently firing blanks.

Adam Webster had better chances than most to score but a combination of brilliant saves and less than clinical finishing left him reflecting on what might have been.

Typically blunt the former Notts County apprentice admits he is still searching for his top form this season. "I'm not happy with my performances and I've still got a lot to work on," he said.

"I still feel as though I'm not firing on all cylinders yet but I'm working on it. However I'm delighted we are still joint top of the league, and it's still early days with the other cup competitions.

"We are one of the front runners and capable of being up their if we believe in ourselves."

Dan Jones' long awaited debut proved a popular decision with supporters and he can expect to play more of a role as the season progresses. "At the end of the day if you are good enough you are old enough," said assistant manager Mick Tuohy but added that young players have to be eased in gradually.

"You are wary of throwing them in too early because if they don't do well you can end up smashing their confidence before they've even started.

"It's a question of balancing that out but with some up-coming cup games there's no doubt some of the young lads will get an opportunity."

Training, as such, was scrapped on Monday with most of the players in the treatment room, but Barton is hopeful that Pat Lyons (neck) and John Snape (ankle) will be fit for Saturday.

Long term injury victim Marc Burrow has a slipped disc between his fourth and fifth vertebrae and will be out for the foreseeable future.

Burrow may even face surgery if his back fails to improve sufficiently.

"There's no quick fix and if there's no definite im-provement the worst case scenario is that I will need surgery," he said.