McDonald admits 'edgy' Poppies have to 'reset' after disappointing defeat to Alvechurch
Liam McDonald admitted his Kettering Town team was 'edgy' in their disappointing 2-0 home defeat at the hands of relegation-threatened Alvechurch at Latimer Park on Tuesday night.
The Poppies went into the game off the back of a six-match unbeaten run, having won five of those, but they were not at their best and slipped to defeat, missing the chance to go up to eighth in the Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central.
A win would have seen Kettering close to within just four points of fifth-placed Redditch, but as it stands they go into Saturday's trip to AFC Sudbury sitting 11th and seven points off the play-offs, although they do still have two games in hand.
Alvechurch secured a win despite only having a handful of chances as Felix Miles netted twice in the second half, and McDonald was left to rue his side's lack of a cutting edge in attack.
"The only had a couple of shots on goal, but we haven't created a great deal either," McDonald told Kettering Town's YouTube channel.
"I thought we had opportunities to take the lead, and when you are on top you have to score, we know that.
"Fair play to Alvechurch, I thought they were good and they played the conditions very well.
"They were sloppy goals to concede from us, and we haven't seen goals like that for a number of weeks, but if we had taken our opportunities in the first half then we would have probably won the game."
The defeat is far from terminal in the Poppies' quest for a late surge into the promotion play-offs, but McDonald feels his players are feeling the pressure of having to play catch-up and keep on trying to win every game.
"We looked a bit edgy and we are in a situation where we have games and they are like must-win games," said the Poppies boss.
"The boys are human, they are going to lose games, and I was prepared to lose at some point.
"It is not about bawling and shouting, the players are disappointed and I think collectively that was probably our worst performance.
"But there is no harm in having a reset, because you are winning and it becomes a habit, and you forget about the basics, and our basics on Tuesday weren't very good.
"On the whole, the boys have been fantastic and I have had to remind them of that, as they have given us the opportunity we have got."
Saturday sees the Poppies go to AFC Sudbury, and they then host the Suffolk side in a quick return match at Latimer Park next Tuesday (ko 7.45pm).
Sudbury are currently second bottom in the Premier Central table, and are on a run of 12 matches without a win - with 11 of those ending in defeat!