ERNIE Howe is hoping that the arrival of two new midfielders will end the problems his side have been having in that area.

Howe brought Ben Surey and Matthew Warner to the Camrose last week and the duo enjoyed good debuts in the 2-2 draw with Kettering.

Surey, 21, has come from Crystal Palace, while Warner, 19, has arrived from Wycombe Wanderers.

Howe said: "Both are young and want to play first team football, and their clubs have given them the chance to do that here.

"As you would expect, having come from professional clubs, they showed some good things on Saturday.

"After the Bracknell result something had to be done. Believe me, I made a lot of calls about players last week and my mobile bill is going to be huge!

"I was able to get the deal for Ben sorted out on Friday night, and for Matthew on the Thursday.

"Midfield is where we have struggled this season, and finding someone to replace Kevin Gibbens has been difficult."

Both new players live locally - Surey in Camberley and Warner in Farnborough.

Howe continued: "I could've got Ben here a month ago and I wish I had, though to be fair we still had to give other players a chance.

"He hasn't played a lot of football because he's had a few injuries. But you can see his ability by the way he worked with and used the ball.

"He's here for a month but if all goes well we might be able to keep him a bit longer."

On Warner, Howe commented: "Matthew is a third year YTS player at Wycombe and also a friend of David Ray, which I didn't know until Saturday.

"I spoke to John Gorman at Wycombe and he was happy for him to come here.

"Because he is a YTS player, he isn't here on a loan deal or anything like that, but here to get work experience. He can still play for Wycombe as well as us."

Warner said: "I've been playing left back at Wycombe, but I enjoyed it in midfield against Kettering.

"I was a little tired towards the end, but hope to play well for Basingstoke as it's a new challenge for me."