WITH their struggles showing little sign of abating, one thing Warrington Town could really do without is a growing injury list.

However, that is exactly what manager Paul Carden is now having to deal with as his side approaches the festive period.

Midfield enforcer Jay Harris and forward Elliot Morris limped out of Saturday’s 3-1 loss at Peterborough Sports – a game Town had gone into with frontman Connor Woods (ankle) and midfielder Jak McCourt (illness) as their latest concerns.

Defenders Peter Clarke (back) and Andy White (ankle) have also been missing while captain Josh Amis will serve the last game of his suspension when Buxton visit the Cal.Delivery Stadium tomorrow.

Clarke and Amis did feature off the bench during Tuesday's Cheshire Senior Cup victory at Cammell Laird, with the latter able to play as suspensions do not carry over into county cup competitions.

Carden was most hopeful of having McCourt back for the clash with the play-off chasing Bucks as he again looks to dip into the recruitment market to ease the situation as well as attempt to reverse a run that has seen them fall to a nine-match winless run in the National League North.

“We’ve got a lot of players missing – it’s not an excuse but it’s a big point,” he said.

“Andy White has been out, Clarkey too, Jak McCourt and Jack Hont have been ill, Connor and obviously Josh as well.

“They’re big players who make a difference and then losing Jay and Elliot on Saturday doesn’t help the situation.

“We’ve got to keep going and looking to improve it – that’s all we can do.

“We didn’t think Connor was too bad on Tuesday but he was unable to walk for a couple of days. He’s improving daily as you’d expect but whether or not he makes Saturday is another matter.

“Clarkey is little improvements gradually and is doing everything he can. I’m hoping Jak McCourt should be back – he’s had this flu that’s been going around.

“Jay and Elliot obviously add to an already big list of important players for us and we can’t afford not to have them, but we’ll keep looking to try and address it and bring in what we can.”

Town did at least bring a run of more than 850 minutes without scoring in open play on Saturday thanks to a first-half goal from recent loan signing Finlay Cross-Adair and despite their defeat, they still have a three-point cushion between themselves and the relegation zone.

Carden insists there is no lack of application from his squad but believes their barren run has made them fragile enough to bring basic mistakes into their game.

“Everything boils down to decision-making,” he said.

“We showed them some video stuff on Thursday about what effects games and how we’re damaging ourselves with certain decisions we’re making.

“In adversity, we revert to type and start making more and more poor decisions and passing ourselves into trouble more often.

“We’re fragile when it comes to that but the only way to get through that is by keeping going. If we stop and stand still, we’ll never come through it.

“It's obviously a concern and we’ve got to somehow find a way.

“It’s not through a lack of effort or trying on anyone’s part, but it’s a lack of understanding at times.”