ASSISTANT manager Steve Jenkins has challenged newcomer Jamie Cuss to find consistency and repeat his match-changing heroics against Alvechurch.

Hereford were trailing 2-0 in last Saturday’s FA Cup tie against old foes Alvechurch when Cuss entered the fray as a 63rd-minute substitute at Edgar Street.

According to Jenkins, Cuss grabbed the tie ‘by the scruff of the neck’.

The 30-year-old former Westfields striker set up Hereford’s first goal for John Mills four minutes after arriving and then bagged the equaliser.

The Bulls won the preliminary round clash 4-2.

“Jamie is desperate to play and a local lad and who is really keen to do well for this club because he grew up following Hereford United,” said Monmouth-based Jenkins.

Cuss bagged 31 goals in all competitions for Westfields last season and opened his tally for the Bulls earlier this month when he came off the bench in a 6-0 battering of Bridgwater Town.

Jenkins, the former Merthyr manager, said: “For Alvechurch to be 2-0 up with 10 minutes gone I bet they couldn’t believe it and were happy to drop in men behind the ball and frustrate.

“The fans were frustrated, the players were frustrated and we were frustrated but we asked questions and the players found the answers in the second half.

“Sometimes you need one player to grab a game by the scruff of the neck and say ‘I am going to be the one’.

“Jamie did that and walked off with the man of the match award. What he did in around 27 minutes was enough but he now has to do that every week when he gets an opportunity.”

Jenkins’ sentiments were echoed by Bulls boss Pete Beadle, who says Cuss has made a ‘big impact’ since arriving ay Edgar Street and wished others had the newcomers’ ‘drive’.

Beadle said: “Jamie is still finding his feet and getting used to how we do things but he’s certainly made a big impact in the last three games.

“He wants to be here and has a desire to do well.

"If quite a few other players had his drive we wouldn’t have started like we did against Alvechurch.

"We are always looking at players or trying to find a way to make us stronger as a group and better as a team.”