Hitchin Town manager Mark Burke is not concerned at his side’s recent run of results – and knows that a couple of wins puts them right back in the hunt for a Southern League play-off place.

Defeat to Redditch United on Saturday followed their exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Enfield Town.

A run of draws prior to that means the Canaries have not tasted victory since September.

But Burke believes his side are more than capable of reversing that run.

He said: “You’ve got to be a little bit careful with confidence but I’m not overly-concerned.

“We’ve had these runs before and we’ve come through them.

“We’ve had a tough run of games; Hungerford away on a Monday night, Leamington and then the games against Enfield.

“And Redditch aren’t a bad team. It wasn’t going to be an easy game.”

Burke was more concerned about the team’s performance on Saturday.

He said: “I was disappointed to be fair. First-half we weren’t in it at all.”

Hitchin have dropped to 16th in the league but because there is just 12 points separating the relegation zone from the play-offs, Burke knows a couple of Premier Division wins can make all the difference.

He added: “We’ve got two games in hand and while I’d rather have the points in the bag, we have to make sure we maximise our returns from those games.”

Next up for the club is the visit to Top Field of one of the giants of non-league football, Kettering Town.

Burke admitted: “They’re a big, big club. They’ve had their bad times but we need to treat them with respect.

“We went to watch them at Biggleswade on Tuesday. They are impressive going forward and the front six will get a lot of goals through the season.

“But we are at home and I always back my boys to do well here.”

One man definitely missing is striker John Frendo, who was sent-off on Saturday.

His loan deal from Hemel Hempstead Town was due to expire next week and Burke admits he doesn’t know what will happen.

He said: “I’ve not spoken to Dean [Brennan, Hemel’s boss] this week but I should know more by next week.

“Either way John is suspended and isn’t playing for anyone this weekend.”