HALESOWEN Town boss John Hill was quick to praise the character of his players after they ended a difficult week with a fine FA Trophy success at Grantham.

The Yeltz won 4-0 last Saturday thanks to a Lee Hughes double and goals from Ivor Lawton and Kieran Morris.

Hill was delighted with the way his troops stepped up in the wake of losing key forward James Roberts to Hereford in the build-up to the contest.

He said: "It was a good win and it was good to get through to the next round.

"In a week where we lost James Roberts and Jordan Goddard it showed that we have the right character at the club. It was the perfect answer and was a good end to what had been a difficult week.

"When you lose good players people start asking questions about what is happening but the players that are here stepped up and did really well.

"You have little time to dwell on things in football and we certainly didn't do that."

The Yeltz will now take on Prescot cables at home in the next round on Saturday, November 10.

Before then they return to league action with a daunting trip to second-placed Royston Town this Saturday.

"This really is a tough game," added the manager. "Everyone we have spoken to and all of our reports have been full of praise for them.

"It's a tough ask but we'll go there in good spirits and see what we can do."

The Yeltz management team is still working hard to bring in new additions but it's unlikely anyone will arrive before the weekend.

Hill said: "We are fully aware that we need to plug the holes and are working to bring people in.

"Both myself and Matt Clarke (assistant) were at different games this week running the rule over players we are looking at and we have a number of approaches in at the moment as well."

Meanwhile, club president Colin Brookes has now transferred ownership of Halesowen Town to directors Karen Brookes and Keith McKenna.

Brookes' daughter Karen is now the official owner alongside McKenna, who is also the club's youth team boss.

Colin purchased the club from the Lynch family in June and will continue with his role as president and director.

He explained: "We agreed we give it time to settle and then I'd hand it over to Karen and Keith.

"They are both working incredibly hard to improve the club and find new sponsorship.

"We now have the academy, under-21 team and the youth side and the improvements at the ground are still happening."

Colin has also paid tribute to the hard working committee and fans for their support and for donating almost £14,000 to help kick-start the start of the season.

"I can now have my cup of tea in the boardroom, try and settle down and enjoy the football.

"I know this club will progress now as long as the fans stick with us, and sometimes that means being patient."