Steelmen must learn the lessons, says boss Attenborough

The Steelmen were beaten 3-1 by their Northern Premier League Midlands rivals in the first qualifying round of the FA Trophy in Leicestershire on Tuesday night as football returned having been put on hold last weekend as a mark of respect following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The two teams meet again in league action on Saturday sitting in third and second place respectively with Corby still unbeaten after seven Midland division matches.

And Attenborough, a former Dynamo boss, insists there should be no surprises in store for his team.

“The lads have got a sighter now, they have seen who they are up against,” the Steelmen manager said.

“Both squads are fairly small so there won’t be huge changes for anybody.

“We want a reaction on Saturday and it’s easy to say that but we are playing the same side and the same personnel.

“It’s a chance to show we have learned a few lessons from the other night.

“Cup football hasn’t been great for us but we have got to carry the league form on.

“I am not going to get too down about anything. We have lost our first game in eight and if you’d given me that sort of run at the start of the season I’d have snapped your hand off.

“We are under no illusions that if we are to be a top end side then we have to be better.

“We still have a lot of work to do and that continues on Saturday.”

Attenborough, meanwhile, believes his team are “playing in spells” at the moment.

The Corby boss wasn’t overly disappointed with the performance in midweek and felt their hopes weren’t helped by a refereeing decision in the build up to Dynamo’s second goal.

But he is seeking more consistency from his own players.

“It wasn’t a case of it being a really poor performance or anything like that,” he added.

“It was a fairly even game and, at 1-1, I thought there was only one team who were going to win it because we were in the ascendancy and they were struggling to get out of their half.

“I don’t often say it but the game has turned on a really poor decision from the referee.

“I have looked at it again and there is a foul in the build-up, which was clear.

“My only real issue from our point of view is that we didn’t react to that second goal very well.

“We chased the game too early and we got caught for a third .

“At the moment, we are playing in spells. We are having a good 20 minutes and then dropping off and I have said in interviews that I don’t think we have been great yet, which might seem a bit harsh.

“But we have got away with it at times and, on Tuesday, we didn’t.

“We need to improve our consistency because when we do turn it on, we do look a good side. We need to sustain those levels for longer periods.”