ASSISTANT manager Russ Penn believes Harriers' young guns are learning a lot as they prepare to provide first-team cover this season.

A youthful Kidderminster outfit suffered a 4-0 loss at Stourbridge on Monday after shipping late goals at the War Memorial Ground.

Penn was pleased with the way the prospects stood up to the task for long periods against a strong Glassboys side and underlined the role they will need to play when the new campaign kicks off.

He said: "I thought they acquitted themselves well.

"We started really slow but then got up to max speed after 20 minutes and for the next 40 minutes, even though they had the lion's share of the game, we were quite comfortable.

"We were quite good on the ball and created a few half chances. Don't get me wrong, Stourbridge were a strong, physical and a good footballing side but I thought we matched their first team really well.

"We know what we're doing in possession and out of possession and it's that old mentality that as soon as we concede a goal it was like the floodgates opened, and that's the disappointing thing for me.

"These lads are our reserves for the first team so whether we like it or not they've got to be prepared for playing football this season.

"We've learned a lot from a few players tonight, what they're like physically and mentality wise. It was a great test for us but we're just disappointed with the last half hour.

"It's unfortunate we've had to bring the young boys to play in the first team tonight. In an ideal world this would have been a first team fixture. But sandwiched between Bromsgrove and Wolves with the size of the squad we've got it's a no-brainer that we've had to bring the young guns."

Penn also confirmed that Harriers are edging closer to adding to the squad.

"It's more about organisation now and ironing out the cracks. We'll have a few more bodies in the next week or so leading up to Leamington.

"We clearly need bodies. There are a lot of other clubs in our position and we understand that. We've been waiting for about four weeks now but they're nearly there and hopefully we've got a few more faces coming in."

Harriers have added Correy Davidson after a successful pre-season trial at Aggborough.

Meanwhile, defender Fraser Horsfall rejected a contract offer at Aggborough to sign for Macclesfield Town.

Kidderminster lost 1-0 against Bromsgrove Sporting last Saturday and are due to host a Wolves XI tonight before going to Halesowen Town this Saturday.

* HARRIERS will host a working party at Aggborough Stadium on Saturday, August 10.

The club have been contacted by a supporter keen to rally together a group to help with a small amount of summer refurbishments at the stadium.

Works, starting from 8am, include the cleaning of seats in the East and Main stands as well as sweeping, tidying and a general ‘sprucing up’ of the grounds.

John Davies and the team at Hire-It! Kidderminster have agreed to support the event with the supply of various materials and equipment.