No plain sailing at Salisbury -- Tuohy

WORCESTER City thumped basement boys Salisbury City 6-0 just three weeks ago - but don't expect a repeat scoreline tomorrow.

That's the view of assistant boss Mick Tuohy as Worcester put their impressive run of results on the line at the McEnhill Stadium in the Dr Martens League Premier Division (3pm).

Tuohy believes the Wiltshire side are better than the scoreline at St George's Lane and their league position would suggest - they have won only three games this season and are eight points adrift at the bottom.

That was proved the week after their mauling at Worcester, when title-chasing Kettering needed two goals in the last 10 minutes to beat Salisbury 2-1.

Tuohy said: "To be honest we all expect them to perform as if they were top of the league. They need to scrap for every point that is to be played for.

"We were just exceptionally good on the day. Salisbury certainly weren't the worst side we have played this season - we just had the rub of the green.

"They looked to have a lot of commitment and desire and never gave up on the day. We expect a very, very hard game, especially if the pitch is a bit heavy."

From a City point of view, Tuohy is looking for striker Stewart Hadley to have a continued impact on Worcester's fortunes after joining on a permanent basis from Kidderminster Harriers earlier this week.

He added: "The quality of Stewart has been immense. He has had an enormous effect on the side and look forward to him continuing to do so for the next few seasons.

"It is a massive coup to get him - we must have done something right. It is convenient geographically for him but I am sure he hasn't just come because it is up the road. He obviously sees the potential here and that John Barton is building a side to challenge.

"It has been a particularly difficult season for various reasons, and yet we are the highest scorers in the league.

"One thing we always said was that if Mark Owen was not in the team, where are the goals going to come from?

"That is a credit to Mark and what he has done in the last few seasons, but John has filled the gap by a number of other people and it is paying dividends."

With the arrival of Mark Shail, Adam Webster and Leon Jackson in recent months, Tuohy is delighted at how the club's board is backing Barton's ambitions.

"To be fair the club as a whole has often been criticised for not supporting managers financially, and I think they have been very supportive over the last few months. That is very encouraging."

FORMCAST: It will be much tighter this time but City will scrape home 1-0.