HEREFORD manager Josh Gowling says his squad will have to adapt if they lose players in January to balance the budget.

A run of five league wins on the bounce in November has put Hereford within reach of the National League North play-off positions.

However, the Bulls have taken a financial hit during the Christmas period with home games against Gloucester City and Kidderminster Harriers both postponed do to Covid-19 cases within the Bulls camp.

Gowling would like to strengthen his side during January but fears that opposite might happen.

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"You want to strengthen in January to really have that push," said Gowling.

"Is it going to be there? I don't think so which is obviously frustrating for everyone at the club.

"It's been a while since we've been in a position like we are now I would say where we are teetering just outside the play-offs.

"I think we've been going well and pretty much played everyone in the league this year and held our own.

"It would be good to add a couple (of players) to the mix just to strengthen us a little bit more.

"It's not going to happen, that makes my life harder I suppose and we'll probably lose a couple.

"But taking over as manager in the middle of a pandemic is never easy.

"You've got to adapt and evolve so if we lose a couple we might have to slightly adapt the way we play to get results then that's what we'll do."

Gowling and his assistant Steve Burr signed a two-year contract with the club in May meaning the pair are also due to be in charge for the 2022/23 season.

The Bulls boss says he now wants to retain players for next season but fears what next season's budget will look like.

"We do have an older fanbase and you can understand why some of them are not coming to games because of the Covid risk," added Gowling.

"I totally get it. But for the football club and my budget that will have an impact.

"You set a budget for a set attendance and if we're not hitting those targets then where will that leave us next season?

"My worry is we're going to be cutback after cutback every year and then where will we be next year with the budget that we've got?

"Really we should be talking coming into January about what players we are going to retain and then looking to add to the squad next year to make us even stronger.

"Now are we going to be able to do that? If not that means we're going to lose our best players again.

"That means we will be back to square one again where we have to start re-building 10 or 12 players into the squad which I don't want to do.

"My big concern is what does next seasons budget look like in order for us to retain the players we've got and then add extra firepower to the group to make sure that we are guaranteed play-offs next year."