Benjamin comes to Pitmen

Hednesford boss Dean Edwards has targeted a return of 17 more wins to gain promotion from the Unibond League Premier Division after signing former £3million man Trevor Benjamin.

The 29-year-old former Leicester striker has signed for the Pitmen to boost the club's promotion drive, as they prepare to host third-placed Kendal tomorrow.

A quick response is needed, after their bid to make it 10 successive wins was ended by Ashton's 1-0 success on Monday.

Hednesford are six points clear but Edwards believes they can't afford to sit on their laurels.

He said: "We might be six points clear but other teams have games in hand. We are playing a lot of the teams around us this month and if we're not careful, we could end up in the play-off zone by the end of it.

"I've set us a target of 17 wins out of our remaining 25 games, which would give us 91 points and I reckon that would get us promoted."

Edwards believes Benjamin, who has been training with Blue Square Premier high-flyers Kettering, could add a surprise dimension.

The manager said: "What we haven't got is impact players, but the likes of Trevor and Paul Hall, who I'm also trying to sign, that can come on and keep the ball.

"Certainly Trevor can knock people about a bit too, which is what we need because as good as our front two are, they looked a bit tired on Monday."

Hednesford hope to have midfielder Chad Shepherd available again after a hamstring injury, to challenge Mark Briggs and Ross Draper.