Caddis gives recruitment update as threadbare squad braces for brutal fixture slog

Paul Caddis is under no illusions that reinforcements are needed

Hereford boss Paul Caddis has said that he will get fresh faces in because not one player in his side can manage the jam-packed fixture list over the next nine weeks.

After this week, the Bulls face nine weeks of games on a Saturday and Tuesday - and that comes after Caddis was once again only able to name three outfield players on the bench as Hereford played out a goalless draw at King's Lynn.

To add to Caddis's woes, Lawson D'Ath was carried off injured in the second half and now faces "15 games" sidelined.

The result means the Bulls have now won only one of their last 12 National League North games - a run stretching back to early October.

Speaking to the BBC's Clive Eakin after the game, Caddis said he thought he would have been able to name two new signings, but "unfortunately, things changed on their end".

Stopping short of giving more information, he added: "Nothing we could do, pretty late, as mad as it sounds, just with transport.

He said that "a couple of the lads" that he had tried to sign "haven't quite passed a test, stuff like that".

"So just small things like that, but we are continuously trying. We will get players in."

The Scot, who wasn't elated or disappointed after the game where he thought a draw was fair, added that the Bulls have put a seven-day approach in for "a couple of players" so now need to wait for that time to pass.

"We will strengthen," he said. "We absolutely will. We have to strengthen. I think it's an opportunity for everyone to realise that we are trying to change things.

"We will change things in terms of, we'll get more bodies in because we absolutely need it - probably more now the likes of Lawson [D'Ath]'s out."

He said that the congested fixture list does give his side a chance of building momentum.

"We've got a brilliant group in there," he said. "They're continuously working against the odds in terms of the numbers that we had available today. We'll get bodies in. We'll get fresh faces in.

"I'm going to put it out there and say there's probably not one player in there that will be able to do Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, with the fixture pile that we've got.

"We have to make sure we've got freshness. We have to make sure we've got bodies. 

"The opportunity is there for us to do it. We'll find the right player for the club that we feel is needed to play for this football club and we remain really positive for that."

Currently, the Bulls have 19 players in their squad, including Rooney and Lewis.

That number also includes Preston Bitemo on loan at Kettering and the injured Madou Cisse, on a season-long loan from Notts County, who has only made two appearances.

In recent weeks, Caddis has lost Sam Osborne, who was recalled by Alfreton; Omari Sterling-James, who moved to Hednesford for an undisclosed fee; and Eno Nto, who was released to pursue a move abroad.

Matt Richards then also left to seek more regular playing time, while I-Lani Edwards and Callum McFarlane returned to parent clubs Aston Villa and Solihull Moors as their loan deals expired.