Monmouth Town's footballers have been enjoying an unexpected break as the weather forced the cancellation of their last two fixtures.

Town, gearing up for their last sixteen Welsh Cup clash against Porthmadoc on 1st February, have been hit by injuries and suspensions leaving manager Steve Jenkins to try to reinforce his squad.

Top scorer and winger Elliot Ford is out for the season after injuring his cruciate ligaments in a clash with the Aberdare goalkeeper, pictured right, while with cautions adding up, centre half and former Barry Town captain Dan Clare also misses the next match giving fans' favourite Jacob Guy a chance to stake his claim for a first team start.

With former Cheltenham Town and Swansea City striker Julian Alsop now in the squad, Jenkins looks favourite to land two or three more players to help Town's cup and league challenge. With the Kingfishers just off the pace after back to back defeats it's critical that the team can do well at Goytre United this week before returning home for the cup fixture. Jenkins was in buoyant mood as the squad trained last Saturday; "We've done really well so far with some new players coming in and a change in the way we've been playing. We're not conceding as many as we have and still look very dangerous but it was always going to be difficult keeping a large squad happy. We lost some top lads to other Welsh League teams and our bench was starting to look a little bare so I'm close to bringing in a couple of players with Welsh Premier League experience who can give us a lift and help us stay with the leading teams."

Leaders Haverfordwest lost for the first time last Saturday at home to Cambrian Clydach and lie six points clear of Town but they need to make the long trip to Monmouth in a game rearranged for the end of the season.

If you are interested in sponsoring match balls or match programmes for the Welsh Cup tie please contact the club.