Gary Owers was critical of his side’s defending in Saturday’s 4-0 defeat at Wrexham.
A hat-trick from forward Chris Holroyd, including a late penalty, and a goal from defender Manny Smith put pay to United’s hopes of getting a result.
“Pretty simple, really, a really, really poor defensive performance,” said Owers after the final whistle. “Just failed to do basic elements of defending – same goal [conceded] last week. A free header from a corner, their first corner, after starting the game brightly. Designated player to mark number 10 – emphasized the point in the pre-match meeting. And someone takes, or fails to take responsibility and we’re a goal down.
“The second goal, again, a cheap free-kick. No-one marking in the box and possibility a mistake by the goalkeeper and give yourself an uphill task after that. 3-0 down the game’s over at half-time and I don’t think I’ve ever said that in my career, at half-time it was damage limitation. Dug in a little bit, and then give another horrendous goal away with the penalty.”
The Gaffer is looking for his side to stand up and be counted in United’s remaining fixtures that will decide who stays in the National League this season.
“I’m the man that will be getting all of the blame tonight, but I was stood off the pitch. People that are on the pitch standing over the white line have some responsibility as well and I need to see that. It’s really important and I’m talking about every player at the Club. There’s 11 out there that I pick, some that have been injured and haven’t been available. There’s 5 on the bench as well and I need to see how much everyone cares in the next week.”
Owers was happy with the performances of United two new loan signings, midfielder Tommy O’Sullivan and forward Alex Fletcher.
“I thought Tommy done well, [he] got on the ball. One of our better players on the day. Quite happy with Alex – nice and bright in the first half. Created a couple of hhalf opportunities. He’ll be better for the experience. ”
More signings are necessary to achieve National League survival according to the Gaffer.
“I knew it would come to this. The major part of rebuilding any squad is done in the summer – so I didn’t do that. I come in because the team hadn’t won in 13 games. We’ve got them going a little bit – added a few that have left, obviously. Now, it’s my job to see what I can do in the coming weeks. I’ve spent 3 days locked in an office, making hundreds and hundreds of phone calls. I’ve reached agreements with players, and then deals have broken down because of agents. I’ve reached agreements with clubs, and then deals have broken down because of players. So there’s all-sorts going on. I have to find a team very, very quickly that’s competitive and to be frank, shows a lot more desire than we’ve shown today.
“Everybody is working tirelessly. We’re not just standing back watching it all unfold between our eyes. It’s heart breaking. I’m standing there watching players make mistakes that they shouldn’t make. We’ve started the game really well and we took the game to them and you come in 3-0 down and the game is over.”