GRAHAM Turner believes Hereford United can be a force to be reckoned with when a string of players return to the fold.

The Bulls have limped to ninth in the Nationwide Conference table but are still in touch with the leading pack, despite a number of injury setbacks.

In particular, a lack of goals -- just 17 in 15 league games -- is costing them points but the absence of last season's top scorer Adam Stansfield and fitness problems for summer signing Guy Ipoua have not helped.

Director of football Turner had three full-backs missing in Saturday's 1-1 draw at rivals Kidderminster Harriers with Alex Jeannin (one-match ban), Ryan Green (knee) and Simon Travis (ribs) all out.

Midfielder Rob Purdie and centre-half Darren Blewitt operated on the right and left flanks respectively.

Turner admitted Hereford just need to hang onto the tails of the promotion chasers until their key players return to boost them.

He said: "There's some decent, well-organised sides in the Conference. It's not flowing for us, we're not creating a lot of opportunities or scoring many goals, so we have to hang in there until it turns.

"We've been disrupted a little bit by absentees but we've been solid at the back all season.

"However, our goalscoring record has been quite poor and that's the reason why we're half-way up the table instead of being in the top three or four."

Ex-Scunthorpe goal poacher Ipoua has struggled with a hamstring problem and is being brought back gradually, while Stansfield should return in the middle of this month after a double hernia operation.

Turner added: "Guy started the season off with three goals in three games and then got his injury. He looks like he needs more training yet, he's lacking a bit of fitness.

"But we have him to get fully fit and we've got Adam to come back. At the start of the season, I would have put my money on Adam getting 20 goals. He did last season, he's a goalscorer.

"There's no doubt we've missed him so there is something to look forward to when we get players fit again."

Turner is striving to ensure he does not run out of strikers during the early stages of November after extending the loan of Crewe target-man Matt Bailey for another month.

The promising form of Wellington teenager Andy Williams has given extra options for the Bulls who visit Cambridge City in the FA Cup first round on Friday night.

But the injury list has also left them without experienced midfielder Stacy Coldicott (back).