MANAGER Andy Allardice says Dudley Town are reaping the reward for the hard work put in during a weather-hit January.

The Robins had been playing friendly games on the 3G pitch at Thorns Community College and attending gym sessions together to make sure they could hit the ground running once action finally resumed.

Town beat Ellesmere Rangers 1-0 last Wednesday before backing that up with a fine 3-0 win at the Dell over Wellington Amateurs last Saturday.

New forward arrival Chris Wedderburn hit the winner against Ellesmere after coming in from Gornal.

He was again on the scoresheet against Wellington three days later. An own goal and a strike from Alex Perry ensured Town took the points.

Allardice said: “The players have worked hard in January and are now being rewarded for that.

"We hadn’t played for three weeks due to the poor weather conditions but wanted to make sure we were ready to fire.

“I also asked the players to give us more.

"I told them they are not just playing for their places in the side but also their future at the club. They've reacted the way we wanted.”

As well as Wedderburn, the joint management team of Allardice and Nigel Kirkham have also bolstered their squad with Jake Fairhurst from Bilston. He joins Alex Mallen who is also back in the fold.

Meanwhile, Romanian midfielder Marius Ologu has now left the club to sign for Worcester City.

Ologu’s previous club was professional outfit FC Caransebeş in the second tier of the Romanian football league system before signing for Dudley in December.

Dudley didn’t have Ologu under contract but have been able to secure a pre-season friendly with City.

The Robins will face Smethwick Rangers in the Birmingham Floodlit Cup tonight before going to Stone Old Alleynians on Saturday.

However, they are facing a tough task due to the amount of players out injured. Chris Ekwemalor (shoulder), Rion Francis-Mills (calf), Adam Wright (knee), Joe Woodall (groin) and James Crofts (thigh) are missing.

It means Dudley will have to turn to some of their younger players to fill the void.

Allardice added: “It is a good chance for the younger players to come in and show what they can do. We already know a lot about them due to the friendlies we’ve been playing so we have faith in them.

“Bringing through youth players is something we are also keen to do. Next year we will be starting a reserve team to provide that step from our under-18 side to the first team.”