HARRIERS assistant boss Neil Howarth has hailed the impact of raw talent Luke Reynolds - who is facing a race to be fit for Sunday's trip to York.

The striker scored on his debut against Aldershot and has looked lively in his outings against Hereford and Stevenage.

But a combination of injury and illness has limited the goal poacher's involvement and the Aggborough faithful have been restricted to fleeting glimpses of Reynolds' talent.

Howarth knows all about the frontman's potential having played alongside him at AFC Telford.

"When I was at Telford he came in and scored about 20 goals in 25 games which is a terrific strike rate," said Howarth.

"He is the kind of player who is very enthusiastic and he doesn't let defenders and goalkeepers settle.

"Against Hereford there were three or four times where he conjured up shots out of nothing and he certainly knows where the goal is."

Reynolds limped out of Saturday's scoreless stalemate with an injury after missing the 5-0 defeat against Grays Athletic through illness.

He has returned to light training this week but remains a doubt for Sunday's trip to KitKat Crescent.

"He struggled on Saturday and in hindsight he perhaps shouldn't have played because he wasn't quite fit enough," he said.

"We're hoping he'll be ok for York but we'll have to wait and see."

Despite quitting AFC Telford earlier this year to link up with his mates at Market Drayton in the West Midlands League Premier Division, Reynolds is committed to carving out a career with Kidderminster, insists Howarth.

"He's as keen as anybody to be here next season and they all know what they've got to do if they want to stay and that's impress the manager and me."

Howarth is predicting a tough test for Harriers against the play-off chasing Minstermen on Sunday.

"We've just got to take all of the good things from the performance against Stevenage and repeat them up at York," said Howarth.

"They've been flying over the last 10 or 15 teams and along with Grays are one of the form teams in the division.

"It often happens that teams like Hereford who have been up there all season are squeezed out at the last minute by a team who sneaks in.

"That could be York and they've got as good a chance as anybody of going up through the play-offs so it's going to be a very tough game for us," he added.