MANAGER John Barton revealed his trio of new signings had given Worcester City a huge boost but admitted a 0-0 draw against Newport County was no excuse to be singing from the rafters.

Although Stewart Hadley, Mark Blount and Leon Jackson were unable to get off to a winning start they did enough to suggest they could be a massive influence at St George's Lane over the Christmas period.

Loan signings Hadley from Kidderminster Harriers and Burton Albion's Blount displayed sureness of touch and composure while Bilston Town signing Jackson injected some much-needed pace and mobility into the City midfield.

Barton was pleased with their performances especially as they were thrust into new surroundings less than two hours before kick off.

"I thought there was an improvement in the performance although it wasn't good enough to win the game," he said.

"But considering the new lads were dropped in the dressing room at a-quarter-to-two I thought they did excellently and were possibly our three best performers.

"However, I feel there is still more to come and we need to win matches but bringing in new faces has had the desired effect and it has given everybody a lift but you are not going to be singing from the rafters just because you get a 0-0 draw.

"Newport are a decent side and were feeling confident after taking Blackpool to two games, but it was a game of few chances at either end."

Barton praised the contribution of Jackson, who he felt showed glimpses of why the club had invested in him.

"He displayed some of the things we bought him for -- getting into good positions and making runs past the strikers.

"He had a few opportunities to get a goal but there were a couple of close offside decisions and unfortunately his touch let him down early on when he had a chance."

The trio are all set to feature in Worcester's Dr Martens League Cup clash at Bedworth United tomorrow night.