“I’ll be looking to spice things up over the next few weeks,” were the thoughts of Fakenham Town manager Wayne Anderson prior to the weekend’s fixture against Mildenhall Town.

That philosophy will only have been underlined by the subsequent 5-1 home defeat to the early Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division leaders.

“Some of the boys just aren’t cutting the mustard and I’m looking at bringing some more lads into our relatively small squad,” added Anderson.

The Ghosts, who have lost four games in a row, have been severely blighted by injury since the season began, with the list of key players missing only increasing — the latest example being when Matt Franks pulled up in the warm-up with a reoccurrence of a hamstring injury. Matt Gilchrist, Stephen Harvey, Sam Garner are all still unavailable while Kyle Plumb was missing for last week’s Felixstowe defeat.

“With five senior lads out, you really notice a difference,” said Anderson.

“Not just in the way they play the game, but also talking to the younger lads as well.”

However, Anderson has been able to add one new name to his squad, in the form of Sam Lawn, who he describes as an exciting midfielder, and a player he knows well from his time at Dereham Town. It was to be a baptism of fire for Lawn, as he went straight into the team facing Mildenhall. With a very strong wind behind the Ghosts in the first half, it was no surprise that they took the lead after 20 minutes, Plumb curling a shot from the edge of the area beyond the reach of the Mildenhall keeper.

Unfortunately though, that was to be as good as it got for hosts who conceded two before the break and three thereafter, as well as seeing Ashley Jarvis limp off.

A further new signing is expected later this week with Anderson lining up a centre half to join the cause.

“I’m looking to get some younger, stronger lads in — ones that can give us something extra”, he said.

Next up for the Ghosts is a trip to Brantham Athletic on Saturday, followed by a Tuesday night journey to in-form Gorleston.

Fakenham Town Reserves opened their Anglian Combination Division Three season with a 2-1 win at Brandon Town on Saturday.

The visitors’ goals came from Dan Jarvis and Aaron Dougal. It’s another away trip for the Ghosts’ second-string this weekend when they face Gayton United (1.30pm kick-off).

Fakenham’s ladies opened their pre-season campaign with an absolutely huge 20-2 win against East Coast Ladies at Clipbush Park on Sunday – opponents that stepped in at the last minute when Bohemian Ladies were unable to fulfil the fixture.

Cambridge United Women Reserves are the next opposition. They visit Clipbush Park on Sunday in a match that gets under way at 2pm.