Sean Clancy believes AFC Telford can survive

Many are sweating at the New Bucks Head already, with 11 games gone of a win-less start to the league season, that a season of struggle looms large once again.

Telford fell from this division with a record-breaking whimper two seasons ago and, combining that record with this, have one win from their last 44 Conference Premier games.

Their first title in 62 years, the Conference North accolade, saw them bounce straight back last term and put smiles on fans faces which are slowly eroding away.

Clancy, at the grand old age of 27, has represented nine non-league clubs so far and has never experienced the heart-break of the drop.

He's struggled alongside teams, sure, but has always found a way to get out of it. Telford boss Liam Watson has, too, and those calming influences could be just what the doctor ordered.

The wide man will fill the breach as an attacking left-back for tomorrow's home game against Torquay United and knows the score, having started out in the position at Blackpool in his teens.

He said: "I have never been relegated in my career and I don't intend on starting now. We have had a tough start, but I don't doubt us. I believe we have enough in the changing rooms to come through.

"I have confidence in my team-mates and the manager that this is just a sticky patch. We just need to get our heads down now, not dwell on past results and cut out the mistakes we have been making.

"We have been scoring goals, but it's what we have been leaking that we need to plug. If we can do that, there's no reason why we can't get some good results.

"The realisation is that we have got to get some more points on the board and pick up some wins, there's no two ways about it. We don't want any more of a gap created.

"We need to keep with the pack and, with a couple of victories, we could jump out of the drop zone. It looks like we are miles away but, really, we are not."

Rock-bottom Telford are already five points from safety, which made Tuesday night's Shropshire Senior Cup semi-final tie at Shropshire neighbours Market Drayton Town a hindrance.

But it turned out to be the Bucks' first competitive win of the season and maybe a turning point, as Clancy argues after getting himself among the goal-scorers.

They hit Drayton for six to run out 6-1 winners and now head back home for tomorrow's test, last recording a creditable 2-2 draw against Barnet on their own turf two weeks previously.

They then welcome Chester on Tuesday night before going to Kidderminster Harriers next weekend, with both counting among Clancy's former clubs.

He said: "Getting any sort of win was exactly was the dressing room needed, the level of the opposition wasn't that important really.

"It's improved the morale of the dressing room and we need to see if we can try and take that into the next game, although we know how tough Torquay is going to be.

"Every game we go into this season is going to be difficult, you are playing teams who are full-time in most instances and are a lot more well drilled then the opposition we faced last season.

"But we have been exposed to it now for a good few games, so we know what the standard is like now and what to expect.

"I have been eyeing these three fixtures up, since the start of the season, as games we can go into and get a result. We need to have the belief and confidence that we can achieve something.

"You take positives from certain games and Barnet was a big one for us. We need to get ourselves in that frame of mind again."