Ian Allinson has been given the green light to spend some of St Albans City's FA Cup bonanza - but won't be rushed into a quick decision on who to buy.

Saints' poor run of just two wins from seven National League South games has seen them slip out of the play-off positions.

It threatens to undo the promise of the beginning of the year, which saw reach the top of the table and culminated in an FA Cup first round win over League Two leaders Forest Green Rovers.

That cup run, with its associated TV appearances and increased sponsorship and gate revenue, brought a sizeable monetary reward and calls from the fans for some of that to be invested in the squad have been growing over the last few weeks.

That now appears to be imminent although he wouldn't be drawn specifically on whether Sam Cox would be signed, the former Wealdstone and Boreham Wood midfielder having been spotted at the last two games at Clarence Park.

"I do believe we need to freshen it up," said City boss Allinson. "I’ve spoken to the owners and they are really keen on us freshening things up because we don’t want to waste what we’ve done.

"We’ve also got a lot of games coming up where the squad is going to be tested.

"It is something we are looking at but we have to make sure we bring the right person in that will improve us as a team and we don’t go like for like.

"This next four months is going to be a test. It is going to test everyone’s mettle in terms of where we are.

"There will be some ups and downs, some enjoyable periods and some horrible periods. We have to accept it and take the rough with the smooth.

"We’ve had some magnificent highs this year and there have been a couple of lows over the last couple of weeks and it is important people don’t react to the lows and put a negative spin on it.

"We mustn’t rest on our laurels and there is money to spend but again, we have to bring the right person in.

"We have got a great changing room here, a great squad, and we have to make sure people fit into what we’ve got and what we want.

"We know we have to be better and I can’t sit back and watch what I saw on Saturday [the FA Trophy defeat to Cheshunt] any more or what I’ve seen in our recent performances at home."

Their last two outings, both away from Clarence Park have at least brought points with three at Welling United and one at Chelmsford City on Monday, but Allinson believes City's exposure in the FA Cup may have inadvertently made it harder to pick them up.

He said: "I think you have to give other teams credit.

"When you put yourself in the spotlight like we did on national TV, every team in the division would have taken note and would know we have good players and are a good team.

"They raise their game when they play us now.

"It certainly isn’t a confidence thing for us because I’ve seen us in training.

"I was disappointed with our reaction when we went 1-0 down on Saturday against Cheshunt.

"When [Chelmsford] equalised, I thought our reaction was good. We actually tried to get back into the game and score a goal.

"It wasn’t pretty on the eye, I totally agree with that, but that will come as we get this new style of playing on pitches like this.

"They should become firmer and sharper by the end of February and we have some games on artificial surfaces which should suit us."