ASSISTANT manager Matt Clarke admitted losing hotshot Kaiman Anderson in January would be “a massive kick in the teeth” for Halesowen Town.

The 19-year-old Shrewsbury Town rookie has plundered 16 goals in all competitions for the Yeltz so far this term but this week hinted at a new challenge when his temporary deal expires.

Anderson argued his case for a crack at League One football in an interview with his parent club’s website, adding: “If I’m not going to be involved here then hopefully I will get a loan at a higher club.”

But Clarke, whose side have netted just nine league goals on top of Anderson’s 12, insisted he had not yet resigned himself to Anderson’s exit.

“We have benefited from having Kaiman in our ranks, he is an exceptional talent and we said from the start that we just wanted to play a part in his development,” said Clarke.

“If that means he gets into Shrewsbury’s first team then fantastic. If a National League or National North club wants to take him then that would also be great for him.

“It would be a massive kick in the teeth for us to lose our biggest attacking threat but that’s the nature of football. We don’t want to lose him but he is not ours to lose and we are grateful for every moment we have him.

“The goals tally does not lie but John (Hill, manager) and I are very active in terms of looking for people at the top end of the pitch. He would have to be replaced but we still have plenty of time and a lot can happen.

“All we can do is hopefully improve and get some better players around him.”

Halesowen were beaten 4-0 at Marine in the Northern Premier League last weekend with a home match against Grantham next on the agenda (Saturday, 3pm).

“It was very disappointing,” said Clarke. “On the back of three defeats, everybody wanted to put it right but we started very poorly and were one down within five minutes.

“Individual mistakes cost us and we were three down at half-time. It is down to confidence, it is low and that happens.

“Having no match on Tuesday gave us the opportunity to have a good week of training and to try to rediscover some of that belief. We have a good dressing room and some good players but we’re not seeing the best of those boys, we just need to get back on the same wavelength.

“We have only lost two league games in that run so we’re not going over the top but we know we need to be better.”