LEE Duckworth has said that he hopes his new recruits motivate players already at Winsford United to raise their game.

Blues completed the signing of full-back Caldon Henson, who returns for a second spell at Barton Stadium, and attacking midfielder Danny Byrnes at the end of last week.

The latter could make his debut in an FA Vase clash with Worksop Town this afternoon, kick-off 3pm.

“It should give one or two lads a kick up the backside,” Duckworth told the Guardian.

“Both of them strengthen the squad considerably and that’s why we’ve moved to bring them in.

“Caldon is an experienced guy who will help us to shore things up at the back, while Danny is a forward-thinking player who fills a gap left by Callum Gardner’s departure in the summer.

“He adds creativity and can provide a link between midfield and attack.”

Byrnes, a former Welsh youth international, started the current campaign at Mossley along with Henson.

They will be tasked with helping to turn around the fortunes of a side that has failed to win any of their seven matches in the North West Counties League.

That sequence continued when they lost 4-0 at Burscough on Tuesday, and Winsford have now conceded more goals than anybody in the Premier Division.

A change of attention to Worksop, and a second qualifying round tie, provides temporary relief.

However the Tigers’ form has been impressive and it took Nantwich Town - an opponent ranked two levels higher - to inflict on them a first defeat of the season in the FA Cup last weekend.

“We’ve done our homework and had them watched,” said Duckworth.

“We expect a difficult game, although previously we’ve always managed to raise ourselves in this sort of situation.

“They’ll have a good following with them, and we’ll need to be better than we have been if we want to keep our run going in the competition.”