CHEPSTOW Town assistant manager Wayne Samuels reckons his side needs to find some sort of consistency soon or risk not being part of the pack challenging for promotion this season.

Samuels believes that in the next three to five games a pattern will form as to who are the runners and riders in this year's Welsh League Division Three championship.

And the dug-out assistant is hungry for Town to be one of the main contenders for a top three finish.

"I rather have points in hand than have to chase our way up the table. We need to be consistent in our game and as a squad. I would not be happy for us to finish where we are now (ninth). Promotion is what I would like and not to be in the same position we were last season. I confident we won't be. A top three finish is what we have to aim for," he said.

Town did not do themselves any favours away at Tillery on Saturday. Despite dominating the game, they fell to a 2-0 deficit and only clawed a goal back with minutes left from midfielder Carl Evans.

Samuels admits he was gutted with the result.

"We deserved a draw. We matched everything they had in the first half and watching them I felt that was as good as they could go. For the first 20 minutes of the second half we were all over them, but we just couldn't find the net. We hit the post three times. Nothing was going our way."

A goal in that purple patch of play could have sealed the result in their favour, but instead Tillery snatched it with two opportunist goals before Evans' bitter consolation strike. Samuels praised the club's second string starlets who were called into the squad because of injuries.

"We phoned a couple of the second team lads on Saturday morning and fair play to them, despite such short notice they did everything we could have asked," he said.

But it is that first team instability that is harming Town's aspirations this season.

"We've lost Mark Wadham. He's gone back to Croesyceiliog, with our full blessing, despite us wanting to keep him.

"He's the last player we wanted to go because he's a defender and its a position we desperately need to fill up with on more players.

"We've got the seconds, but we could do with some quality signings to float in there," admitted Samuels.

He said the club was actively looking for new players and that he expected more to become available in the transfer market very soon.

This week, Town face Caerau Ely, who did not play on the weekend. "It's yet another tough game, but we have to go there aiming for a win and picking up three points." The game kicks off at 3pm.

Chepstow Town Seconds faced the tough challenge of Bryntirion. And despite a gallant display they ended up slipping to a 5-1 defeat.