Lowestoft Town joint boss Ady Gallagher has urged supporters and club officials to stick with them as the Trawlerboys get ready to face Grays this evening at Crown Meadow.

An injury-ravaged Blues slipped to their first home defeat of the season on Saturday against Hendon and Gallagher hopes the club can come together to get their season back on track.

Lowestoft have had an underwhelming start to the season, taking 11 points from their first eight games, but Gallagher insists they will start climbing the table when some of their first team stars return.

'At times like this you have to be really strong and you look to the people that love and care about the club to get behind you and keep supporting you,' he said.

'The boys' backs are against the wall and they are doing the best they can. The same players are having to play every single game, without break, in a really tough start to the season.

'It's easy to be critical but everything has got to be put into perspective. Our season hasn't been horrendous and it's been very tight in all the games that we've played in.

'What we really need is for people to get behind us and keep encouraging the boys to do the best they can.'

Dan Gleeson was the latest player to knock on the physio's door as he suffered a heel injury before Saturday's loss.

He remains a doubt for this evening although Chris Henderson will return after serving his one-match suspension for his red card against Canvey Island last month.

Despite the likes of Curtley Williams (knee), Greg Crane (thigh), Jack Defty (broken leg) and Dale Cockrill (knee) remaining sidelined, Gallagher insists the club won't bring in players just to boost the numbers in the squad.

'Anyone can throw money at a problem if you've got money to throw at it. I don't think that's in the best interests of Lowestoft Town Football Club.

'If we can find the right players to come in then we will have a very strong squad.

'We've got a young 16-year-old (Connor Doddington) on the bench from the youth team. We're a club that's in progression doing the best that we can do.

'Hopefully some of the injuries that we've got will clear up over the next week or two and enable us to have a strong squad.'

Even at this early stage of the season Lowestoft cannot afford to let the frontrunners in the division get too far ahead but Gallagher is adamant the Blues' luck will change.

'Obviously it won't be like this all season – we just need people to stick with us and keep encouraging at this moment in time,' he said.

'If you are judging the players over the eight games we have been pretty sound.'