SKIPPER Andy Ford has warned his Barnards Green players they could be dragged into a relegation dogfight if they continue to produce below-par performances.
Green have not picked up a win since May 31 and find themselves just three places above the drop zone in Birmingham League Division One.
Ford said they have not been helped by the weather, to which a number of their matches have fallen victim, including Saturday’s clash against Smethwick.
But he said it still does not excuse some of their performances in recent weeks, including disappointing defeats to Wellington and Old Hill.
“We have been slightly unfortunate with the weather as we had a few games which have been abandoned that we could have picked up points from.
“For instance, we were rained off against bottom of the league,” he said.
“But we have also had a couple of games where we haven’t performed anywhere near the level we should be at.
“Our batting or bowling were not good against Wellington and Old Hill and we were beaten pretty convincingly. They are also teams which we beat last year, so that was frustrating.
“I don’t think we are firing on all cylinders at the moment. We need to kick on soon rather than later because we don’t want to get caught up in a relegation dogfight.”
However, Ford insisted just one win would be enough to turn their fortunes around and he hopes that will victory will come this weekend.
“We have got Moseley away on Saturday who we have beaten every time we have played them since we have been in the league, so we fancy our chances against them,” he added.
“Hopefully if we win that game we will pick up some momentum which is key in this league.
“There are teams like Harborne above us who we know we are much better than, so I am not too concerned about going down. But we just need to make sure we play well against them and hope it’s not rained off.
“Andy Curtis who is a good quality cricketer and Alex Hepburn who has got a contract at Worcestershire have been doing well recently, but everyone else has to start chipping in and as soon as they do then we will be right back up there.”