THERE haven’t been too many occasions of late where we have been really disappointing. Sadly, Saturday’s defeat to Boston United falls firmly in that category.

With mid-table obscurity almost secured but for a big swing in form from several sides below us, Saturday’s performance had the hallmark of players already being on the beach post-season. It was bitterly disappointing to see and certainly against the grain in terms of recent form.

There have been games in recent times when we’ve been a bit flat but we’ve been able to battle through and either secure draws or even steal wins, but Saturday’s performance was well below the level seen even in recent games at Tamworth and Telford. With some players being out of contract at the end of the season and others looking to impress the ever-increasing number of scouts attending our games, you’d have thought a game against a fellow mid-table outfit would have been the perfect chance to put in a performance. Unfortunately not.

To be fair to Boston, they looked like they really wanted it. They set a good tempo early doors and maintained it. I don’t know what the contractual situation is of their players but they looked like they were out to impress. They played with urgency and ultimately they secured a deserved win.

For us it was remarkable that the whole team had an off day. During our good run of form, individual players have had a below par performances but the form of their team-mates has got us through the game. Saturday’s performance was lacking from the front all the way to the back. We carried little threat going forward. Even our goal had a degree of fortune about it. Meanwhile, our midfield and defence struggled to deal with the pace and movement of Boston’s highly motivated players. Picking a man of the match must have been a tricky for the game’s sponsors as there wasn’t a single stand-out performance; so much so that I would have given the award to the 50/50 ticket sellers for shifting 1,720 tickets. Most definitely a stand out performance.

For the past few weeks during his interviews Tommy Wright has spoken about trying to get the crowds back through the turnstiles. I can imagine he is acutely aware of the financial implications for him and his squad if we don’t find the three or 400 fans who were coming to the games earlier in the season but aren’t now. To be fair, it’s been a while since we played a game that wasn’t effected by inclement weather but nonetheless when the club runs schemes like the bring a mate for £8 on Saturday, there’s a need for the players show those who have taken up the offer why they should be coming along on a more regular basis. Any floating fans there on Saturday would have left feeling rather underwhelmed.

With the need to maintain the current off-pitch positivity and to raise as much as possible through the boost the budget scheme we need the players to keep going for the final five games of the season. It might be instinctive for the players to ease off as the season fizzles out but the reality is they need to keep creating a buzz on the pitch in order to maintain the buzz off it. The fans are currently digging deep to find the money to pay their wages for next season. Let’s see five more good performances from the players to make that task a little bit easier.