English demands an end to the defensive errors
An error-strewn performance last weekend saw them lose 4-3 to Thrapston Town – a scoreline that means they have now conceded 14 goals in their last five UCL Division One games.
Giving away soft goals is a feature that has crept into their play and it is one their manager wants to stop.
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“I’ll never criticise the players’ commitment and I’ll rarely criticise their effort,” English explained.
“It is not that that is letting us down.
“It is the attention to detail at times in the game when we need to be at our best.
“We’re doing all the hard work to get ourselves into good positions and then letting mistakes throw it away.
“On Saturday a goalkeeper error within a minute meant we are 1-0 down.
“We got back into the game and it was 2-2 at half-time.
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“Then at 3-2, from our own free-kick in their half, we let them go down the other end and score.
“It was the same from both sides really but it was a totally woeful performance by us.
“It was one of those games right from the first minute – it was mistake after mistake after mistake.
“It’s not time for wholesale changes but it is time to man up a bit.
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“We have to stop making these errors because it is our Achilles heel at the moment.
“Defensively we have been one of the strongest sides in the league in the last few seasons.
“But this season we have been conceding too many goals from defensive errors and if that keeps happening we just won’t win games.”
The challenge does not get any easier for Athletic this weekend either.
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They head to Irchester United knowing they will be in for a tough test.
The Romans have won nine of their 13 home games in this campaign and currently sit one place and four points ahead of Lutterworth.
English added: “Irchester is a notoriously tough place to go.
“They are on a fairly decent run and they always really go for you. I’m expecting nothing less than a battle and we’ll have to be on our game.”