Stone confident Doughboys have the players to 'make the difference' ahead of crunch clash

The Doughboys made it five league games without a win on Saturday when they were edged out 1-0 at home by Coleshill Town, and the result saw them slip to 17th in the table, just two places and two points above the relegation zone.

Saturday sees a huge game for Stone and his players as they travel to fourth-from-bottom Sutton Coldfield Town, who are just two points behind them in what is an incredibly tight Midlands Division.

Borough had secured three draws on the spin prior to the Coleshill loss, and have been competitive in every game they have played this season, but the harsh reality is they have taken just three points from the past 15 available to them.

Those supporters with a glass half full mentality will rightly point to the fact the Doughboys are still only five points off the play-off places, and Stone certainly believes that his team is capable of getting themselves heading in the right direction.

They just need to start scoring more goals.

Looking ahead to the Sutton Coldfield trip, Stone told @doughboys_wtfc: "It is going to be a tough game, but everyone we are playing seems to have taken a turn from maybe poorer results to good ones.

"Sutton have had a change of manager and it is going to be another hard game, but we keep saying that in this league every match is as tough as it comes, and that is why you have to score your chances when they come. If you look at our results against anyone, there is always just a goal in it.

"That is across the board in this league, so it is really, really important that you take your chances and that is where our difference has got to be and we have to work on what we do in the final third. That is especially the case with the new forwards in."

The Doughboys handed a first start to former Kettering Town frontman Nile Ranger last weekend, and also introduced former Northampton Town attacker Ethan Johnston off the bench following his switch from AFC Rushden & Diamonds.

And Stone is hopeful the pair will quickly click with their new team-mates.

"Nile hasn't trained with us and he went straight into the team, so it is difficult to create those relationships straight into a game," said the Borough boss.

"But I think he did alright, and we just need to work on a few things out wide to deliver more balls in the box.

"It can all turn very quickly, this league can turn very quickly, and I am positive that we have the players that can make the difference."