Daisy Hill will be looking to end their winless run of form when they travel to face Route One Rovers in the North West Counties League First Division North on Saturday (3pm).

Last week’s loss at Darwen was the latest in a series of disappointing results, and Daisy manager Lee Hill is issuing a challenge to his squad to tighten up defensively and get back to winning ways.

“We spoke during the week in training about giving away cheap goals, and in recent games we have been too open,” said Hill.

“That might be okay when you are scoring goals, but we haven’t been.

“The lads know that there’s not been the level of performance that’s needed for 90 minutes, and there is a feeling of frustration in the camp.

“We have been missing Kaiden Barlow up front, which hasn’t helped, but we need to show a bit more responsibility at the back, be more compact and be harder to score against.”

The trip across to West Yorkshire gives Daisy the chance to complete their first league double of the season, having won 1-0 in the home fixture earlier in the season, with a late winner from Ryan Lockett.

Although Route One Rovers currently sit third from bottom, they have been significantly strengthened in the last few weeks by the return of all-time top scorer Zac Khan, who bagged more than 30 goals last season as top marksman in the division.

Since his return to the club at the start of the month, Khan has scored five times in three games, including a hat-trick on Monday evening against Armthorpe Welfare in a County Cup tie, and boss Hill is well aware of the threat that will be posed on Saturday.

He added: “We know what Route One Rovers are like, and they are different to a lot of teams in the league as they get the ball down and play good football.

“Some results haven’t gone their way and they had been struggling to score goals, but probably not so much now that they have brought back Zac Khan.

“They will have that cutting edge now that they lacked earlier in the season, and we don’t expect anything other than a tough game.

“They were flying last season, but this season things haven’t gone their way, maybe teams have worked them out a bit now, as they were more of an unknown quantity last season.

“Lacking a regular goalscorer may well have contributed to where they are in the league, but they have sorted that now.

“They are probably one of the best footballing sides in the league, but they do concede goals, and teams score against them in most games.

“But their strength is going forward and outscoring teams, and we will have to strike a balance where we minimise their chances and take our own.”