Karl Ashton put on Rangers leave

Stafford Rangers manager Greg Clowes has given new signing Karl Ashton another week off to get over the shock of being involved in a car accident.

Ashton wrote his car off and was lucky to escape without serious injury in a collision late last week that saw him miss Saturday's 1-1 draw at Nantwich.

The striker was again absent for Tuesday night's 3-1 Walsall Senior Cup win at Stafford Town and has yet to make his debut, two weeks after signing.

The 23-year-old put pen to paper on a deal until the end of the season and joins Sean Kinsella and Oliver Davies as contracted players at Marston Road.

But Clowes feels the new-boy is still too traumitised by the incident to play until next Saturday's Evo-Stik Northern Premier League game at Eastwood.

The Rangers boss said: "To walk away from a car accident that bad is lucky, even though no other vehicle was involved.

"He came down an embankment and hit a tree, otherwise his car would have gone straight through a dual carriageway.

"We thank our lucky stars that didn't happen and the main concern is that he's OK.

"He will feel bumps and bruises that he doesn't realise, like a bit of whiplash and so on.

"He will be ready for the Eastwood game, though, I would think."

Clowes is resisting the urge to pitch Ashton in for Saturday's tough FA Trophy tie at home to Blue Square Premier visitors Southport.

But the Marston Road chief believes he will notice the difference when the forward pulls on a Rangers shirt for the first time.

He said: "It's frustrating for us because the lad has been on our books for two weeks and we haven't seen him play yet.

"But he will make a massive difference for us, we have not signed him on a contract for nothing, he's a great addition.

"He's a good player, simple as, I have seen enough of him to understand that."

Davies has also missed the last two games with a chest infection but signed his contract before Tuesday night's game.

The 19-year-old could be fit to play against Southport and Clowes believes he's the latest fan favourite at Marston Road.

He said: "I am a year and half into this job now and the three contract boys I have now can make a difference to our team.

"For Oliver's age, he's the best I have seen at this level, you don't see many 18-year-olds playing with his maturity.

"He wants to do well for Stafford and we are looking after him, this is his reward for doing extremely well so far.

"It's nice to hear people not haggling about money, we have given him a good deal that he has taken for the right reasons.

"He wants to progress, he thinks the club is great and he's a fan favourite, they all like him."