CLEE Hill United boss Wayne Whitbread was due to put his players through their paces last night ahead of Saturday’s Herefordshire League Premier Division trip to Hinton.

And he admits he was a little wary of what he might find after nearly three weeks without a game and the excesses of Christmas and New Year to contend with!

“I’m not sure how many we’ll see but it will be a good chance to give our legs a bit of a run before Saturday,” the Clee manager admitted. “It’s a while since our last game so I’m just hoping the lads have looked after themselves.”

Whitbread’s side head into 2019 in second place but he insists a trip to mid-table Hinton won’t be taken lightly even though hat-tricks from Liam Whitbread and Josh Carpenter steered them to an 8-3 victory last time.

“On paper it looks OK but when we played them earlier in the season they were a good side,” he added. “We then play Fownhope twice and Wellington so it’s a tough start to the year and those games could define our season.”

Clee are 14 points adrift of Wellington Reserves but have four games in hand.

At the other end of the table, neighbours Tenbury Town and Tenbury United will be hoping for an upturn in fortunes in 2019.

Town prop up the table with just one win so far and play host to high-flying Westfields Reserves on Saturday. United are also struggling in the lower reaches and head to Fownhope.

In Division One, Orleton head to Belmont Wanderers and Ludlow Town Colts play host to Hinton Reserves while Orleton Reserves are at home to Civil Service in Division Two.