FAIRFIELD Villa vice-chairman Paul Oakes admitted the squad has been decimated ahead of their Midland League Division Two clash at relegation-battlers Smithswood Firs this weekend.
With the race for a top four finish hotting up, third placed Villa are going to be without eight first-team players for the trip to Solihull on Saturday.
Ryan Molesworth, Scott Smith, Ben Smith, Joe Brookes, Pete Jenvey, Jack Connolly, Dan Wilkes and James Ward are all unavailable for various reasons.
However, Chris Lowe, Ollie Booth and Dan Price are expected to return to fold while new signing from Northfield Town Jon Myrie is expected to be handed his debut.
Oakes said: “I feel sorry for Wayne [Davis] because the squad has been completely decimated ahead of our game at Smithswood.
“It’s important to win this weekend because there are teams snapping at our heels and we can’t afford to slip up anymore.
“Finishing in the top two is beyond us now but we can certainly finish third but our rivals are keeping us on our toes.”
Villa go into Saturday’s game on the back of a 7-1 victory at second-from-bottom Hampton, a result which brought an end to the club’s three-game winless run.
Top scorer Connor Collins lead the way for Villa with a hat-trick while Wilkes (2), Connolly and substitute Ellis Blakemore also got on the scoresheet.
“The win was exactly what we needed,” Oakes added.
“It was a really good performance and the additional goals were a bonus for us as we totally dominated the game.
“The last three performances have been below par but we started on the front foot this time and the goals kept flowing.
“Being critical, we probably could have won by more if we had been more precise in front of goal.”
