St Ives Town manager Ricky Marheineke insists the club’s long run without a win will end sooner rather than later.

His side have not tasted Southern League Premier Division victory since the opening day of the season more than two months ago.

But Marheineke has been impressed with the performances produced by his side in a pair of 2-1 defeats in recent days.

They were pipped by Tiverton on home turf last Saturday when reduced to 10 men for almost 80 minutes following the dismissal of goalkeeper James Goff.

And there was further cause for encouragement on Tuesday when Saints went down at Royston by the same scoreline despite bossing large chunks of the game.

“The performances have been good of late,” stressed Marheineke. “That always sounds a bit silly after a long run without a win, but we’re not doing a lot wrong.

“We have managed to address the defensive issues we had earlier in the season - now the focus is on being a bit more clinical in the final third.

“We’re looking threatening and we’re creating chances, but we’ve got to put the ball in the net a bit more often.

“We’ve deserved something from a lot of games, but haven’t got it. However, I’m convinced we’ll be picking up results sooner rather than later.”

The next opportunity for third-bottom Saints to add to their meagre tally of five points from 12 league fixtures is at Redditch tomorrow (Saturday).

They travel to the Midlands without goalkeeper Goff, who serves a one-match ban after being red-carded last weekend.

Goff has also now been diagnosed with concussion after undergoing medical checks during this week. He will also sit out a home clash against Bishop’s Stortford.

Marheineke has drafted in Leamington man Matt Hill to fill the goalkeeping void at Redditch. Hill is second-choice at the National League North side.

“We’re thankful to Matt for agreeing to step in,” added Marheineke. “There’s absolutely no pressure on him.”

Saints are also without striker James Hall, who pulled a hamstring in the loss at Royston. Hall hit his second goal of the season before picking up the injury.