Long-serving full-back and skipper Gari Rowntree insists Workington Reds have too much talent in the squad to be permanently stuck in a relegation battle.

Rowntree had a close-up view from the bench in Tuesday’s 1-0 home defeat by Farsley Celtic as he took charge of the side in the absence of joint bosses Dave Hewson and Lee Andrews.

“It’s just as frustrating out there on the pitch as it is from the touchline, especially when we had great opportunities to take control of the game," he said.

“We missed two very good opportunities and should have gone in at half-time with a nice advantage.

"That’s been the story of our season so far, not being able to put away enough of our chances.

“The disappointing feature of the game, however was that we didn’t do as well in the second half, particularly after they scored.

"We couldn’t respond to going 1-0 behind after 65 minutes.

”I think a lot of it is down to confidence, which is obviously low at the moment.

"But if you look at the squad there is enough talent in there to get us out of trouble."

Tough-tackling full back Rowntree had charge of the side, with help from new reserve team boss Lee McCullough, after joint-managers Hewson and Andrews had taken a break to coincide with school half-term.

“Originally when they booked their breaks we had no fixture this week but later the league stepped in to fit in the Farsley game which had been postponed when we made FA Cup progress,” explained club chairman John Mackay.

Both will be back for tomorrow’s FA Trophy tie, when Reds have a third successive game against a side in the top five.

Indeed Scarborough, 1-0 winners at Gainsborough on Tuesday, are the league leaders.

Kyle May was a casualty against Farsley, being replaced by Lewis Tidy for the last 25 minutes, when he had to leave the field with a calf strain.

The veteran defender has played in four games since returning to the club and in that time Reds have conceded only three goals with two clean sheets, but no wins.

Yet in the same four games the team has only scored once.

The last win in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League came on September 1 with a 3-1 home win against Matlock Town, so as a result they have slipped to next to bottom of the table.