STEVE Lloyd insists spirits are high at Barnton despite suffering back-to-back defeats on the travels in the past seven days.

It means the Villagers kick off tomorrow’s encounter with Congleton Town four points adrift of a position of safety in the Premier Division table.

However the manager says his side are as determined as ever.

He added: “Our commitment [at Runcorn Linnets] in midweek was excellent; we never gave up, and the proof for that is how we scored two late goals.

“I want the lads to bottle that and keep taking it into every game.

“We know we need to put points on the board, but we remain driven collectively to get them quickly.”

James McShane and Chris Smith, who increased his tally for the season to 12 in all competitions, were on target in the closing stages of a 5-2 reverse at Runcorn.

That followed a disappointing 2-0 defeat at AFC Darwen, who occupy a place above Barnton in the standings, last Saturday.

Defensive duo Shaun Alcock (groin) and Liam Baker (foot) are ruled out by injury this weekend, while Jason McShane and Paul Alcock are unavailable.

However wide men Josh Crofts and Jonny Jones both return to the squad after missing the midweek meeting with promotion-chasing Linnets.

Lloyd said: “We knew Runcorn would be a huge mountain for us to climb, and those types of game against the top sides in the league are a bonus for us.

“If we take anything from them, then it’s a huge result at this stage of our development.

“That said, we posed them some serious questions in the early part of the game and could have taken the lead before their superior quality showed through.

“Sometimes you just have to accept, and then applaud, when the opposition is on a higher level than you are.”