MANAGER Darren Byfield says he needs more leaders among his Redditch United ranks.

The Reds saw a six-game unbeaten run ended with a 2-1 loss at St Ives on Saturday before they quickly slipped to back-to-back defeats with Monday's 4-2 loss at Hitchin Town.

Byfield admits that the lack of experience in his squad is holding them back.

He said: "We do need leaders because we are a very young side.

"I think we just need one or two experienced voices in the team and I'll be working on bringing that in.

"We have signed some really talented players in the last couple of weeks but I think we need people who can step up when things aren't going our way.

"We are conceding an awful lot of goals but that comes from all over the pitch. We need people to open their mouths and get the side organised and in position to block shots and keep track of runners.

"I don't look at my players and think they are not good enough, it's more to do with having more captains in the team."

Against Hitchin, debutant Jhai Dhillon netted twice but couldn't prevent disjointed Redditch from defeat against the 10-man hosts.

Left-back Dhillon, signed from league rivals Dunstable Town hours before kick-off, lobbed keeper Michael Johnson from the corner of the box and then charged down a clearance which looped into the net.

But in truth, Hitchin were worthy winners having threatened to run riot in the opening 25 minutes before producing a composed display in the second half following Brett Donnelly’s 44th-minute dismissal.

That defeat followed the 2-1 loss at St Ives. Luke Keen netted his fourth goal in as many starts but Redditch had given themselves too much to do.

Byfield said: "We just didn't start either game quickly enough.

"I wasn't too harsh on the players after the St Ives game because they have shown a lot of determination to go unbeaten in the previous six games.

"I did have a go at them after the Hitchin game, however, because I think there was more we could do. It was also a good opportunity for some players to stake a claim in the side."

The boss at the Valley also admits that mid-week travelling has been a problem for his side.

"We always find it hard to get our strongest side together when we are away during mid-week because of work commitments," added Byfield.

"It's not ideal but thankfully we don't have a mid-week game until mid-March now, which will help us.

"It will mean we'll get to train properly in between fixtures as well, so hopefully we start to see the benefit of that."

The Reds face another away clash this Saturday when they go to mid-table Basingstoke Town looking to get back to winning ways.