Respected Bees need to find more patience

His men were frustrated last week by an ON Chenecks team who defended hard and offered little in the way of attacking threat but still emerged with a 1-0 win.

And now the Bees are pushing for the upper echelons of the Premier Division, Spencer feels it is something they will have to get used to.

He said: “It was a disappointing result but, to be honest, we didn’t really get going.

“It’s something we’ve seen in the last two or three games and we need to get to the bottom of it.

“The way we set up we’re more suited to teams that come and have a go at us and allow us to exploit the space they leave.

“When we have to make the running and dictate the flow of the game we become impatient.

“It’s definitely something we need to improve and address if we want to stay in the right part of the league.

“It’s part of the change we are going through as a club.

“We’re now being recognised as a side challenging for the top six.

“Earlier we were not given the credit we deserved and teams thought they could come and take all the points.

“They had a go and it allowed us set up for the counterattack and then pick them off.

“The reality now is some sides will come and sit in and it is up to us to break down a stubborn defence.

“Fair play to Chenecks, they defended very deep and it made it difficult for us.

“I think a draw would have been a fair result, though.”

Spencer expects a difference sort of challenge this weekend when Harborough go to fourth-placed Leicester Nirvana.

The style of the game might suit them more but it is important they pick up points if they are to stay in touch with the leading sides.

Just five points separate the Bees in sixth and Holbeach in second. But of those sides, four have played 24 games to Harborough’s 27.

“We don’t need to worry ourselves too much that we could lose touch on the top three or four,” Spencer said.

“The main thing is we pick up points so we stay up there as long as possible.

“We targeted top six, so the main thing is we don’t worry about the top three and suddenly find we’ve slipped to eighth.

“I think Nirvana this weekend is exactly the kind of game we need.

“They are an attack-minded team – a very good side with lots of attacking flair.

“That might suit our style of play as it is likely to be much more open than against Chenecks.

“We beat them at home quite comfortably.

“We won that 3-1 and we did it by being very good without the ball.

“We won’t be going about things too differently this weekend and hopefully we can get the same result.”