MANAGER Adam Lockwood has backed recent signing Kevan Hurst to be a key figure in his side's fight for National League survival.

The Mansfield midfieldman is on loan with the Lions for the rest of the season and made his debut in last Saturday's 3-1 defeat at Wrexham.

Lockwood, whose side gave taken 20 points from an unbeaten eight-match run at Nethermoor, will be hoping that Hurst and his new colleagues can extend that run as they face two key home games in four days.

They tackle Eastleigh on Saturday before facing Leeds United's FA Cup conquerors Sutton United on Tuesday.

Lockwood felt Hurst had debut. He said:"He is a good player who has played a lot of games.

"He will will influence us moving forward. We have got a task to achieve and as the games tick away we will strive to achieve what we want to achieve and Kev will play his part in that."

Both Eastleigh and Sutton are sides in the bottom half of the table so the Lions will be hopeful of continuing the home form that has carried them to two points from safety – a far cry from the end of August when they were rock bottom after losing their first seven games.

Despite the loss at Wrexham, Lockwood remains upbeat. He saw good signs in the performance and admitted afterwards: "Nothing has changed for us. The lads know what they have to do every time they come to training or come to a game and hopefully it will be enough for us to achieve our goal."