Confidence is a big issue as Diamonds bid to get their campaign going

It’s been a real struggle in the early stages of the campaign for Nunn’s team.

A 3-0 defeat at Loughborough Dynamo last weekend was Diamonds’ seventh loss from as many games in all competitions this season.

Six of those have come in the Northern Premier League Midlands while Diamonds have found the net just once all season in the 3-1 home defeat to Corby Town on Bank Holiday Monday last month.

Having lost at Loughborough last Saturday, Diamonds return there this weekend as they face their league rivals in the first qualifying round of the Isuzu FA Trophy.

Nunn admits there is a “major lack of confidence” within his young squad after a poor start.

And he said: “We are a really young team and, at the moment, everything seems to be going against us.

“But the boys have to take responsibility for it a bit now.

“I was really disappointed with the first-half performance last Saturday.

“Against Corby, I thought we matched them for long periods and did well in the game. We conceded two late goals and lost but I came away reasonably happy.

“I thought that was a major step in the right direction but the first half last weekend was a major step back.

“We have had to go back to basics and I’m not really sure why we’ve had to do that when the boys were so good in pre-season.

“There’s a major lack of confidence within the squad at the moment and people aren’t taking responsibility.

“We went through it last year and sometimes you just need something to happen and a spark.

“Our aim was always to try to consolidate this year with a young team in the hope that they will kick on in the future.

“But some of them need to kick on quickly otherwise they are going to miss an opportunity, which I don’t want to happen.

“But what I will say is that the boys are working really hard.

“We will be training this week and we will try to put it right.

“I know there’s a team there, because I’ve seen it but they are young and inexperienced.

“We will go there and I will try to inject some confidence into them.”

One of Diamonds’ defeats came when they were beaten at Fakenham Town in the preliminary round of the FA Cup.

And with financial rewards at stake again, this time in the Trophy, Nunn knows this would be a good time for his team to find their shooting boots.

“It’s the FA Trophy and it’s a big game for us because there is a financial prize for winning,” he added.

“After the disappointment of the FA Cup, this has become an even bigger game for us.

“One of our big problems is that we have to start scoring goals. We are missing too many chances.

“We can’t keep waiting for something to happen, we have to make it happen.”