Kirkley & Pakefield striker Ryan Crisp is set for a trial with 'a league club' manager Paul Tong confirmed this week.

The youngster, who had a trial with Ipswich Town last season, has impressed since breaking in to the side last season and will have the chance to show what he can do on trial with an unnamed club next month.

Tong insisted he plans to use Crisp in the meantime with the 19-year-old likely to start against Wivenhoe tomorrow at home, kick-off 3pm.

'We've had an enquiry from a league club – they phoned me on Monday and he is going for a trial,' said Tong, who hopes Crisp can recapture the form of earlier in the season after suffering a hamstring injury. 'He has been out for a while so it's going to take him a while to get back to the level he expects.

'I will definitely play him in the meantime – he needs to get back to playing football with a smile on his face because when he does that then he scores goals.'

Tong admitted his side were second best in the defeat to Wisbech on Saturday despite watching his side hit the front thanks to Dominic Smith's close-range strike.

However, after receiving a half-time dressing down from manager Steve Appleby, Wisbech were a different animal in the second period and three goals emphasised their superiority.

Tong refused to be too downbeat and believes he has enough quality in the squad to turn things around.

'I'm full of praise for the lads but we lost out to a team that will at least finish in the top three this season,' he added.

'We were giving them a few problems in the first half and got on top but in the second half we didn't really come out.

'They showed their experience to come back and we showed a bit of naivety. We've just got to keep believing that things will come right. We've got some good players and I'm gutted for them – no-one goes out to lose on purpose.'

Tong has been hit by player unavailability this weekend with Craig Roberts, Scott Woodcock and Ross King sidelined.

But the former Yarmouth boss hopes the opportunity to shine will deliver a performance from the rest of his squad.

'We've got a lot of players unavailable at the weekend which doesn't help but it means opportunities for others and it's up to them to take it.

'Supporters are down – I thought we could get a result against Wisbech but we are not miles away from them. We will turn it around.'