LANCASTER City boss Tony Hesketh has admitted to the Citizen: "We are hurting this season - and badly."

The club - currently in the bottom half of the Unibond League Premier Division - is going through one of its worst patches in recent years with six successive defeats.

But Hesketh says that, despite the run of bad luck - the worst in his 19 years of professional experience - he has nothing but praise for his players.

"They're showing a huge amount of commitment and superb application. I have no criticism of them whatsoever," he says.

"The fact is that as you can get on a winning streak, so you can get on a losing run. We just have to hope our luck changes."

In a bid to boost the club's fortunes, a large number of players are expected to move through the Giant Axe between now and the end of next August.

Hesketh says: "We are constantly on the lookout for new players but there's no money around. We're in poor form financially although our gate has held steady around the 300 mark."

Lancaster were due to meet Runcorn FC Halton this week in a fixture postponed from Saturday. However, as Citizen went to press, freezing conditions looked set to put the rearranged fixture under threat as well.

City's next home match is on Saturday (3pm) against Harrogate Town, currently just two points ahead of them in the Premier Division.