MANAGER John Barton insists he is not frightened of taking his Worcester City side anywhere in the Dr Martens Premier Division.

City face a difficult Boxing Day trip to Hinckley United (12 noon) but Barton's team will be buoyed by their 4-0 win against Newport Isle of Wight at the weekend.

The only worry for Barton is the injury and illness situation which shows no signs of easing with Paul Carty, Danny McDonnell and Leon Jackson the latest casualties from Saturday.

McDonnell succumbed to 'flu before the kick-off while Carty limped off after 75 minutes possibly with a recurrence of his calf or Achilles injuries, which afflicted him earlier in the season.

Jackson injured a knee ligament and was replaced late in the second-half but was optimistic he would be available for the Knitters trip.

Darren Bullock picked up a knock to his calf against Newport, while Phil Stant, who was on the bench, remains doubtful with an Achilles problem. Andy Ellis is still out but Allan Davies (hamstring) was hoping to be fit again.

Barton remains undaunted by the injury crisis and believes teams need to fear City and not the other way round.

"I'm not frightened of taking this team anywhere in the league and if there are any fears it is from the opposition towards what we could achieve on the day," he said. "Once again it comes down to consistency but we've had two wins from the last three games and 10 points from the last 18.

"We played some decent stuff against Newport on a tricky surface and on the balance of play and chances created could have been looking at being 3-0 up at half time."

Midfielder Jon Holloway believes City need to work harder away from home to achieve results and will need to be at their best at Hinckley, who reached the second round of the FA Cup but lost 4-3 at St George's Lane back in August.

"We've got to pick up and be stronger away from home but do it for 90 minutes," he said. "At Tiverton we were great for 45 minutes and there was only team going to win it and then we came out second-half and were poor. We need to be strong right the way through.

"After the break we need to come back out, start the game again and wear the opposition out and maybe pip it one or two nil towards the end. We'll be looking to do that Boxing Day."