WINCHESTER City boss Ian Saunders is hoping to boost his Southern One South & West squad with three new signings.

The Citizens chief has spoken to a midfielder this week as he looks to fill the void left by skipper Jamie Barron’s departure to Gosport Borough.

In an ideal world he would also like to draft an extra body into defence and in attack.

Winchester – home to Street in the FA Cup first qualifying round on Saturday (3pm) – have endured a difficult start to the Southern One South & West season, picking up just four out of 18 points, scoring nine goals and conceding 19.

“I’ve got a few feelers out,” said Saunders.

“It’s nothing spectacular, but I’m looking to shore up the defence a bit.

“And, as much as we’ve already got lots of attacking options, we’re still not as ruthless at that end as I would like us to be.”

On paper the FA Cup should be a welcome distraction from the league against a Street side who ply their trade in the Western Premier Division.

But the Somerset outfit are no mugs as they have already proved by dumping out City’s S&W rivals Larkhall Athletic 4-2.

“Scoring four against Larkhall suggests that offensively they’re a very accomplished side, so we know we’re in for a tough game," said Saunders.

“If we could beat them, it would go a long way to boosting us and improving what we're doing but, conversely, defeat would be a step back.”

Monday’s 2-2 league draw at Wimborne came as a welcome tonic, soothing the pain of the weekend’s 4-0 Tiverton disaster.

“It certainly boosted my confidence and I’m hoping it’s boosted the players as well,” said Saunders.

"I'm not going to get over-excited about drawing at Wimborne but, in the context of where we are, it was a good result.

“Wimborne are second in the league and flying, but we more than matched them in some areas and, in some cases, we were better.”

Defender Adam Tomasso (ankle) is still sidelined, but Saunders has his fingers crossed for Danny King (heel) and Sam Wilson (ankle).