TROUBLED Hereford United striker Steve Piearce has been sent out on loan in a bid to improve his fitness.

Piearce has joined Dr Martens League Premier Division strugglers Tamworth for a month.

Piearce has played only a handful of games for the Bulls in a season-and-a-half at Edgar Street because of a succession of niggling injuries, and Director of Football Graham Turner banished him from the club after he dropped out of the recent LDV Vans Trophy clash with Yeovil Town.

Turner said: "It will be nice to see whether he can get a few games under his belt."

Fourth-placed United face another important Nationwide Confer-ence game at Southport tomorrow (3pm), although the game is in considerable doubt because of the Arctic weather conditions.

Turner said: "It is looking very doubtful. I spoke to Southport yesterday and they said they have had snow on the pitch and it was frozen underneath."

But if the game does go ahead, Turner will be looking for a repeat of the second-half display when they lost 2-1 at Chester City on Boxing Day, when he felt the Bulls were unlucky not to get a point.

"We had a fighting second half where I felt we should have got something out of the game and we certainly deserved to. We had one or two chances and it took an outstanding goal to kill the game off for us."

United are now 15 points adrift of leaders Yeovil having played two games more, while they are six behind Southport who are third.

Turner admits it will be a tough test for his side against Southport, managed by former Liverpool and England defender Mark Wright.

"By all accounts they are a good side and are currently right up there in contention. They have just slipped a little in their last two home matches."