Pressure on The New Saints to halt their slump

After picking up just one point from their last three games, the pressure is growing on the defending champions as they head south to tackle a Barry side who are unbeaten at home this season.

A topsy turvy campaign has already seen the Saints lose four times – as many as the whole of last season – while dropping 16 points from their first 14 outings.

Having slipped to third, three points adrift of tomorrow’s hosts, they will be looking for the kind of form that saw them hammer United 5-1 at Park Hall on the opening weekend of the season.

Barry’s fortunes have improved since that inauspicious start, and now lie joint top with Connah’s Quay Nomads after the two sides shared a 2-2 draw on Saturday.

They have won all five outings at their Jenner Park base, while they have not lost in the league since October 6 to emerge a realistic title challenger.

TNS boss Scott Ruscoe, however, is backing his charges to shake off their barren patch as they look to get their campaign back on track.

“It’s no use moping, we have to stay positive and get back to the way we were playing, dominating the ball and creating chances,” he said. “You have to go back a long way to find a run like this. I can’t remember too many, so we have to find the answers.

“Saturday is a big test as our away form has not been great, but we’ve got a good squad with a lot of experience that is more than capable of winning the league.

“There’s no major concern, things are not quite going for us at the moment, so we need to regroup, work hard and show belief.

“We’ve not scored in open play in our last three games. We’ve been getting frustrated, and it starts to affect everybody confidence wise.”

Defender Ben Cabango is suspended after being sent off in last week’s 1-0 loss to Caernarfon Town at Park Hall.