Lowestoft Town boss Ady Gallagher has paid tribute to his makeshift centre-half pairing as the Blues continue to struggle for numbers at the heart of their defence.

Jack Ainsley and Rossi Jarvis were pushed into emergency service on Tuesday night and impressed for the Trawlerboys despite going down to a 1-0 defeat against Nuneaton.

Gallagher is desperately seeking reinforcements at the back in the wake of several high-profile departures during the summer and injuries to Dan Gleeson and Scott Mitchell.

However, Gallagher, inset, admits he is likely to turn to the Ainsley-Rossi Jarvis axis once again when the Blues travel to AFC Fylde today.

'Jack and Rossi were superb on Tuesday night – they did such a great job for the team,' said Gallagher, whose side have started the season with two wins and two defeats.

'They showed that they can play that position comfortably. It isn't perfect though because you lose options in other areas of the pitch as a result.

'We know we need to bring in another option in defence but we have got to stick at it for the time being.

'It gives opportunities for other players to take their chance and see what they can do at this level.'

Despite two consecutive defeats it won't get any easier for Lowestoft this weekend with the trip to last season's high-flyers Fylde.

The Lancashire outfit have started the season well, taking seven points from a possible 12 and Gallagher knows his side face a big task to take anything from the game.

'It's another tough away trip and a long way to go all in a day,' he said.

'It makes it difficult but towards the end of last season we learned to cope with it a lot better. It's just down to us to put in a good performance. We've been handed an incredibly tough start in terms of the fixtures and we want to get as many points on the board as we can. So far we have really taken on that challenge.'

Mitchell will miss the trip with a groin strain whilst Adam Smith is also a doubt with an Achilles problem. Joe Marsden could return to bolster the ranks after the former Wroxham man missed much of pre-season with an ankle injury. Gallagher will be looking for an improved display from their last away outing when they lost to Worcester despite playing more than a half against 10 men.

Despite that result, the Blues' chief has been pleased with the general form of his side going back to the start of the year.

'We didn't dwell on Worcester too much – we always saw that as more of a blip than anything,' he added.

'We have played very well at this level since around January/February time and we're happy with where we are.'