IF Tommy Wright was unsure of the task at hand in turning our season around, he will have been left in no doubt just how much of a challenge he faces following Saturday’s defeat to Brackley Town. To say we were dreadful would be an understatement. While there were positives to take away from the defeat at Blyth Spartans the previous week, there was nothing to take away from this.

I’ll be brutally honest, the game was like the greatest hits of our woes from this season. All the classics came together, conspiring to produce the most insipid performance you could imagine. There were individual errors, poor defending, an unimposing midfield and an attack that was as toothless as your average octogenarian granny. When the crowd of 1,267 was announced, there were a few murmurings in the Tin Shed once again showing concern that we’re not attracting more through the turnstiles, but there can be little doubt why people aren’t willing to put their hard-earned money in the club’s coffers.

With one shot on target and one off, we are no longer the swashbuckling outfit of recent years while our defence has more giveaways than that sofa retailer that has a sale every weekend. It’s simply not a good watch when there are so many other ways to spend a Saturday afternoon.

One thing that is for certain is this performance is not a slight on Tommy Wright and Alan White. The analogy of stopping a super tanker comes to mind in terms of the task facing the new management duo. It’s going to take a while for their ideas and approach to take hold. The last three games have seen us face really well organised sides that have highlighted just how disjointed we are. Being organised doesn’t just prevent silly goals from being conceded, it’s about having a constructive approach to moving forward with the ball too; something we look a long way away from having. Brackley were supremely well organised. The way they pressed the ball as a team, the way they moved forward in possession; they were excellent. But that then raises questions about why we can’t be too? Brackley aren’t a Salford City or a Harrogate Town. They won’t have resources beyond our own and yet to a man they looked head and shoulders better than us.

It makes you wonder what the previous manager was doing with the squad during training, but I can’t help but think that it’s going to be very difficult for the new management team to turn things around given they only have the players for four or five hours per week. If I was the gaffer, I would be looking to put on a few more training sessions on top of the usual Tuesday and Thursday nights. I’m sure some will think that would be a big ask given our guys are part-time and some (not all) have day jobs, but we are paying these guys almost full-time money to be part-time footballers and as such, a bit more time spent in the classroom and the training pitch working on shape and tactics really shouldn’t be a big ask. Given how tough the fixture list is over the coming months, it’s going to take something as radical as that to bring about a change in our fortunes. In the summer, the target for this season was to get out of the division. If we don’t shape up soon, we might just achieve that via the wrong exit.