GRAHAM Turner has admitted the situation currently engulfing Hereford United is unchartered waters for himself.

The Bulls, without a fixture tomorrow because they are out of the FA Cup, will begin December firmly entrenched in the League One relegation zone.

The trip to Colchester next weekend will be the first step on the road to closing the six-point gap between themselves and the Essex side, who occupy 20th place.

With 18 games of the season already gone, Hereford know they are in a battle to avoid an immediate return to League Two.

Relegation is not something that has been experienced at Edgar Street since 1997.

Manager Turner, who signed goalkeeper Chris Weale and defender Joshua Gowling on loan this week, has a wealth of experience but even he has not experienced the circumstances the Edgar Street side are in.

He said: “The position that we find ourselves in at this stage of the season is something I have never experienced before.

“I did have a poor start to a season at Aston Villa where we won one of our opening six matches. But that is how long into a season you get in the Premiership before being dismissed.

“When we were relegated here, we were only in trouble in the final couple of weeks of the season and only took up the relegation spot at 4.45pm on the final day of the season.”