ALAN Devonshire may have been one of Richard Dryden’s footballing heroes when he was growing up but that is not going to stop him putting one over his idol.
The Worcester City manager takes his players to Hampton and Richmond in Blue Square South on Saturday (3pm) hoping he can inflict more home misery on the west London club.
The former England international’s side have only won once at their Beveree Stadium this term with that solitary victory coming against basement boys Weymouth.
While the Beavers’ home form is a concern for the ex-West Ham United midfielder, Dryden is becoming increasingly concerned about his team’s lack of goals.
City missed a hatful of chances in the second-half of their FA Cup third qualifying round replay in the 1-0 defeat to AFC Telford United and they have only scored 11 goals in 12 league games.
With front-men Marco Adaggio, Matt Dinsmore and Rob Elvins only scoring two each, Dryden is considering returning former skipper Craig Wilding to the attack.
The ex-Chesterfield striker is City’s leading scorer this term with three goals — all coming from midfield.
Despite his disappointing campaign in front of goal last season, Dryden feels he may turn to Wilding as his search for a striker goes on.
“There’s a chance Craig might go back up-front,” the City boss said. “He has done well this year in midfield and scored a couple of goals.
“With Craig in midfield, it has meant that Gary Walker tends to miss out, plus we also have Matt Birley to come back in.”
The City boss is also considering leaving Mark Clyde on the bench for the trip to Hampton after he pulled out of the starting XI on Monday night due to his persistent knee problems.
The former Wolves centre-half was named in the team to play Telford but withdrew during the warm-up, meaning Wayne Daniel stepped up from the bench.
“It is not bad when you can call on someone like Wayne,” Dryden said. “It might be nice to give Mark the full week off to recover.
“When you have three centre-backs like we have, it isn’t a problem when one is in need of a rest. It becomes a worry when you lose two.”
Dryden may also start Rob Davies at Hampton with the midfielder impressing in the second-half against Telford after replacing Graham Ward.
He added: “Rob did exceptionally well on Monday but he needs to show that form when starting — not just coming on and making an impact.”
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