SWINDON Supermarine boss Dave Webb senses there is light at the end of the tunnel as the club’s injury list begins to diminish.

Joe Shepherd returns to the squad to make the trip to Southern League West play-off rivals Evesham Town at the weekend after a three-game suspension, while Webb has his fingers crossed that a few others will be fit enough to feature too.

“We still have a few on the injury list, like Aaron Woodley and Matt Coupe, but hopefully there will be some good players who will be back available,” he said.

“We are going to have to see how the assessments go. It has been tough because of this injury list - I can’t remember the last time I had everyone available.

“You always expect to have one or two injured but when you have what we had the other week, which was nine players injured, it is ridiculous.

“I’m hoping we will get one or two back because these are the players who would test the resources of any club.

“We have a lot of games in a short period of time. We just have to get everyone back and remain in the top six positions by the end of the year, that is our goal.

“It’s a test for the players and it is a test for everyone at the club.”

Tuesday night saw Marine slip to a surprise 3-1 defeat at Shortwood United and Webbs admits that result does add some pressure going into the weekend.

Webb also believes the clash with Evesham, which takes place on Sunday, is a good yard stick to see where his side compare.

“Evesham were one of the favourites at the beginning of the season but they have had an indifferent start, which shows how difficult the league is,” he said.

“There are no easy games. Even on Tuesday we got in front but we made some mistakes.

“Sunday is two good sides, two sides who want to play football so it will be an interesting game.

“Tuesday was a disappointing game. I’m not looking for a reaction and we just need to eradicate the mistakes.

“We are looking forward to Sunday. Evesham are a good side and they have good players but I’m looking forward to seeing how my players do against theirs.

“It is certainly an important game. It won’t define our season but it’s a test.”