Time is rapidly running out for Peterborough Sports, but boss still believes in his players
Peterborough Sports boss Michael Gash admits time is rapidly running out in the club’s fight against relegation from National League North.
The first game back in charge for Gash ended in a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Southport at PIMS Park on Saturday. The visitors effectively won the game in the second minute with a ‘worldie’ goal and, although Sports kept battling away, they couldn’t find an equaliser.
The defeat kept Sports in the bottom four with 10 games to go, starting with a tough one at fourth-placed Kidderminster Harriers on Tuesday. Gash was a playing hero for the Harriers, but his the 39 year-old’s focus is on Sports who haven’t won any of their last eight games.
There were aspects of his team’s performance yesterday that pleased Gash, but he accepts small improvements are now not enough.
“The reaction after we conceded the early goal was good,” Gash told Peterborough Community Radio. “We’ve been in a situation like that before when heads have dropped and we’ve conceded second and even third goals straight away.
"This time we didn’t. We dealt with their threat well and the longer the game went on we looked likely to score the next goal, but unfortunately it didn’t happen for us.
“There is something to build on, but this is no time for small steps. We didn’t test their keeper enough and, although or goalkeeper couldn’t do anything about a 25-yard curler into the top corner, we might have done better before the ball reached the goalscorer.
"I believe in our players, but they need to have that belief themselves. A lack of confidence can affect the quality you deliver which can be true of the best players in the world when things don’t go your way. If we pull together, sing off the same hymn sheet, I have no doubt we have the quality to start winning games again.
"It’s also about having the right mentality and showing some heart. Do it for the club and the badge. Shaquile Coulthirst put up a brave fight against three big centre forwards, but we also needed to be cleverer at times.
"We have to use the disappointment of this game as motivation for Tuesday night. It’s always tough at Kidderminster and they are always one of the better teams in this league.”
Gash has not ruled out brinning in another central defender, possibly before a big game at fellow strugglers Alfreton Town next Saturday (March 14).