'We're nearly men': Harborough Town boss Mitch Austin considers tough change to correct Bees’ goalscoring woes
Harborough Town manager Mitch Austin admits he might need to adjust his approach following a slump in form.
The Bees have continued to compete well against whoever they’re played against, however they failed to score in each of their last four National League North matches.
Michael Jacobs’ goal helped Harborough to a narrow 1-0 win over Rushall Olympic in the FA Cup second qualifying round a little while ago, though the league struggles have continued.
Last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat away at Macclesfield - courtesy of Danny Elliott’s first-half free-kick goal - was the latest blow for Harborough, now down in 17th in the standings.
“We created a number of chances but they just didn’t go in for us. It’s disappointing,” Austin told @HarbTownFC after the trip to Macclesfield.
“The chances were there for us to nick a draw. I sound like a broken record at the minute. We’re nearly men. We’re the bridesmaid, never the bride.”
Despite another negative result, Harborough, retaining a strong team spirit, believe that they can turn things around.
Though, that said, Austin knows he might have to become a little harsher on his players if the poor form continues.
“Sometimes I get frustrated looking at a manager saying they’ve played really well and they’ve lost, because it’s a results business,” the Bees boss added.
“We’re a good team but a good team that can’t seem to grind out a result at the minute. That’s something we need to eradicate and eradicate quickly.
“As much as we’ve done well, we’re slightly teetering off and we certainly don’t want anything to linger.
“I’ve got to start judging some of them on their jobs and not them as people.
“That’s probably the hard thing right now because I’ve approached these boys with a lot of belief, a lot of love and I probably haven’t been as hard as I should be.”
The attention switches back to the FA Cup for this Saturday’s third qualifying round clash against St Albans City at the Beehive (3pm kick-off).
Harborough then play host to 19th-placed Southport FC the following Saturday in what will be a good opportunity to turn around the league woes.
“I’m a manager who’s trying to progress through this level and take this club with me. Maybe we need to find our edges again and thatt’s certainly including me,” Austin went on to say.
“We’ve got some great players and some great staff, so we’ll work on it. I don’t want it to be too dire in there, we’ve had a good chat and we’ve got to stick together.”