Bognor Regis Town boss: Some of our players don't understand what it takes to be successful

The 2-0 Boxing Day home defeat to Horsham left the Rocks 15th and now 12 points off the play-off places – and you have to go back to November 22 to find their most recent victory, a 2-1 league success at home to Bowers and Pitsea.

Individual errors have cost them dear in recent weeks and it was the same story as Jack Mazzone put Horsham ahead a couple of minutes before the break on Boxing Day, scoring into an empty net from an almost impossible angle after dispossessing home keeper Toby Steward as he tried to shepherd the ball out of play on his own goal-line.

And as the Rocks threw everything at the Hornets late on, sub Daniel Ajakaiye broke and made sure of it with the second in the fifth minute of injury time.

See match pictures by Lyn Phillips and Trevor Staff in the video player above

Horsham deserved the win on the balance of play yet their keeper, Taylor Seymour, was the one who made some excellent saves, denying Nathan Odokonyero and Hani Berchiche with a top-class first-half double save then beating that with a leaping effort to push away a Matt Paterson header that seemed certain to go in eight minutes from the end.

Blake gave his usual honest assessment of the defeat afterwards, admitting the Hornets’ opener was a ‘diabolical’ one to concede but insisting no-one cared more than him about the need to turn form and fortunes around.

Blake told us: “I’m disappointed. In the first half they were miles better than us and put us under pressure, even though they didn’t create loads of chances. They started the game better and put us on the back foot.

"Second half there was a lot of improvement and their keeper made a couple of good saves – Taylor (Seymour) was probably always going to do that given that he was with us and how he left he club. Credit to him for some great saves in the second half.

Rocks 0 Horsham 2 – how the Hornets took the Sussex derby honours.

"But we’re just not doing enough. There’s not enough men – there’s too many young lads who, and I have told them this, don’t understand what it takes to be successful. I have been successful in my football career and I know what it takes but some of our players don’t know it yet. Sometimes we go off on a tangent and start playing our own football. If we stick to the way we want them to try to play we can cause problems.

"There’s a lack of confidence at the minute and we’ve got to try to fix that. Games come thick and fast and we’ve got a tough game at Lewes next Monday, and I’ve said to the players that this can’t keep happening.

"It’s five games now without a win in the league but it’s probably only Folkestone who have given us a bit of a pasting. In reality, we could have got something out of the Horsham game but did we deserve anything? I didn’t think we did, to be honest.

"The first goal was diabolical. It keeps happening, not one time, not two, not three, not four, but five times and you have to do something about it.

"I’ll reflect on the game and the performance and try to sort it out.”

Blake is refusing to use the absence of experienced duo Harvey Whyte and Calvin Davies as an excuse for poor results. Whyte is only out short-term but Davies is around a month from being fit to play after knee surgery.

"Are they good players? Yes,” Blake said. “Do they make us stronger? Yes. But I’m not interested in that because we had enough out there to win the game. Sammie McLeod came in and was our best player by a country mile and that’s a real positive. But we have a few things to sort out.

"I’m always trying to bring new, fresh players in because I think you need it. The supporters have got to understand that no-one cares as much as me and I know how important it is for this football club to have a team to be proud of. That’s my job and I’ll be doing all I can to make it work."

Blake felt the Rocks might be a couple of players short of what they needed for an upbeat second half of the season.

"It’s fine margins,” he said. “We played Cray Wanderers here and they’ve won four out of five league games and are third – and there’s no way there was a gulf between us. We were better on the night and should have won the game. It was another mistake that cost us.

"It’s frustrating but I’m the manager and I’ve got to put it right and I’ve got every confidence I can do that. I apologise to the supporters for Boxing Day heartache, losing a game at home, but I can tell they have a manager who will be trying 150% to put it right."

Blake does not think a play-off push is beyond the Rocks – citing how quickly Cray have risen to third place – but said one win was the first aim. "We’re trying to get one result and build from there. The lads are low and lacking confidence and we want to get that out of them.”