points and a dose of confidence for his players.

In fact, Simons is hopeful of St. Nick making the early delivery tonight at The Den where his troops take on high flying Wolves in the first league soccer match in more than three weeks.

The once mighty Trojans sit precariously over the precipice of the Premier Division cellar, with but a single point to their credit after four matches, placing them seventh out of the eight teams.

Three defeats from those four league matches, together with elimination from the FA Cup -- a competition Somerset once owned -- have combined to diminish the spirit of the side, which duly concerned the coach.

"I think it's an issue of there being a lack of confidence among the team, and we have to find a way to instil confidence in our players,'' said Simons, enduring a second stint as the head man for the west enders.

"We're not playing badly, but at critical times we seem to be lacking in confidence, and as a result we make decisions that are not prudent.

"I think it's a confidence issue and we're in a confidence crisis more than anything else ... it's not a football crisis.'' Whatever the situation it will need to be solved, as they face opponents salivating at the thought of further damaging their psyche.

And, while this marks the first match for Somerset since a November 14 loss against Devonshire Cougars due to the referees' boycott, Wolves had the luxury of a recent tune-up against St. George's All-Stars in the FA Cup, winning 4-0.

Compound that with the fact that Wolves have always been a dicey proposition for Trojans and Somerset rarely play well at The Den, and the situation would appear quite bleak.

However, Simons was optimistic that his men could -- and would -- turn the tide.

"Wolves have always been a difficult assignment for Somerset, even when they were a Second Division team for as long as I can remember.

"They ride a crest of emotion and we have to be able to weather it,'' said the coach, who will face one-time comrade Dennis Brown, former Somerset captain and now head coach for Wolves.

"They're an explosive team who are currently on a high after winning the Martonmere Cup, and I think they will be an even more difficult task, so we have to be able to weather the storm and produce when the time comes.

"I'm looking for a positive result. Although we haven't been playing badly, we've fallen short due to our making a lot of critical errors at the wrong time.

"We, obviously, are creating chances and scoring goals, but we have to be a bit more consistent.'' As to how the long lay-off might affect them, Simons said it could go either way.

"We're trying to look at the break as a positive one. One can never tell, it can either help us or further hurt us.

"Because there were times when we looked like we were going to get results, unfortunately we haven't been getting them, but we looked like we were going to get them. And whether this break is going to help us or not we'll find out tomorrow night.''