Rangers boss looks to plug the gap

Stafford Rangers boss Greg Clowes was today considering two options on how to replace left winger Jon Sheldon at Mickleover Sports.

Sheldon is out indefinitely with a knee injury and leaves an immediate hole in the starting line-up for Saturday's trip to the Raygar Stadium.

Utility man Dan Skelton replaced Sheldon in last Saturday's defeat against Ashton and could fill in for the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League clash.

Another option is to switch Rob Stevenson from a striker's berth to the left wing and bring in Alan Nagington to partner Chris Morris up front.

Right winger Peter Heler is also back from a stag night and will want his place back from Glynn Blackhurst, who came in last weekend.

But Blackhurst is also a contender to be moved into the centre of midfield, after Michael Carr and Kevin Street proved ineffective against Ashton.

That loss made it back-to-back defeats for Rangers this month, after a fine January which brought three wins and a draw from five games.

Clowes, still the Manager of the Month, has lamented his side's inconsistency but insists he still has "faith" in the players.

He said: "To be at the top end of the division, you have got to be consistently good all season.

"We were nowhere near against Ashton, with the same squad and formation that had served us so well in January.

"They have set their levels now and they have got to prove to me they can do it over a two and three month period.

"But I have go to show faith in these boys, they have ability and we have got a big game against Mickleover tomorrow.

"They are always capable and they have bad some good and bad results this season, very similar to us.

"We have got to make sure we turn up and perform. If we play like we did last Saturday, we will get beaten again, simple as that."