PAUL Sturrock believes his Town side are in a period of stagnation but is confident light is at the end of the tunnel in terms of ending the club's 10 years of hurt.

Hasney Aljofree's 93rd-minute equaliser rescued a battling point for Sturrock's men against an impressive Leyton Orient last night but the Town boss admits it is becoming increasingly difficult to fight against the odds.

With the County Ground outfit currently hit by a transfer embargo, Sturrock has revealed Jerel Ifil has become the latest injury casualty as his squad gets tested to the limit.

Ifil will definitely miss Saturday's FA Cup first round tie at Wycombe with a shin injury, with Sturrock praying a takeover resolution will soon ease his worries.

Last night's 1-1 draw was fortuitous but with Sturrock relieved to have avoided three straight defeats for the first time in his career, he hailed his team's never-say-die attitude.

He said: "I believe we have stagnated for a month. This whole transfer quandary we have been in with the embargo and everything else.

"Normally a manager at this time , me especially, has made their minds up about the squad.

"About who is available to move on and picked two or three boys up to benefit us.

"I think the sooner the better we get out of embargo because it enables us to benefit through the loan system and give us strength in depth.

"I don't know the timeframe. I think a decision is getting nearer and nearer and the quicker that is made the better.

"As a manager this is always the time I have found some extra jigsaw pieces for the big puzzle but that has been taken away from us. We are non-operational at the moment, what we have is what we have."

Centre back Ifil put in another outstanding display last night but Sturrock admits it is not fair expecting the former Watford man to keep playing through injury.

He said: "We have problems because Jerel has got to the stage where he can't train any more.

"It was decided after the game tonight, the doc and physio felt rest is only thing to help him. We will have to take him out Saturday and give him 10 days to get on the mend. I though he was outstanding in a lot of his work.

"We are not doing Jerel any good and we are at a stage where we have to take him out. It can flare up worse into a stress fracture and that would be him out for the season."

Sturrock is the first to concede his side are not playing well at the moment but he believes if things get sorted out behind the scenes, the Town can look forward to a better future.

He said: "This club has gone through 10 years of real disappointment. It has been a real up and down scenario and I would like to think we are coming to an end of that tunnel now.

"We are getting better on the pitch and hopefully we will get better off it as well."