Captain Gari Rowntree waiting in the wings as he edges closer to a Reds first-team return

Reds got their first win on the road on Tuesday at Ashton United, with Scott Allison the game’s only scorer, and Rowntree believes another win at Halesowen Town tomorrow (kick-off 3pm) would make the picture look much brighter.

The experienced skipper is focused on building his fitness and biding his time for a chance in the first team but he admitted it is nothing new to him, having had his fair share of injuries over the years.

He said: “I’m trying to get fit, so I played 45 minutes for the reserves last night.

"Once I’m back to full fitness, I’ll hopefully get back into the team and stay there. It’s frustrating but I’m used to it by now to be honest and I think the club are used to it too.”

Watching from the sidelines has been difficult for Rowntree, with Reds so far incapable of putting together a run of wins, but he is confident that it will come.

“The lads have had up and down form and a few harsh decisions, a bit of bad luck on the way,” he said.

“Sometimes the ball falls for you, other times it doesn’t and it can be that you just need it to go your way. They were brilliant the other night and it was a great result so all we can do is build on that.

“There’s been no panic, although lads have been a bit down or low on confidence, because if you look at what we have done in the last few seasons, we know we can do it.

"If you can pick two or three wins up in a row, it changes things.

“They’re all difficult games though and especially when you’re away.”

Rowntree has also taken on coaching responsibilities this season, helping joint managers Dave Hewson and Lee Andrews on the training pitch.

He added: “It’s been decent, I’ve just been helping as much as I can because there’s already Dabba and Lee there.

“I’ve been putting my opinion across and chipping in but, obviously, I like playing so I’m concentrating more on trying to get in the team at the minute.”