Something has to change: Lewes FC’s winless run continues
Lewes manager Craig Nelson and his assistant Bryan Nzinga cited player accountability as the Rooks fell to another two defeats in the past week.
Having already been on a five-match winless run, Lewes lost 1-0 to a relegation-threatened Cray Valley Paper Mills side before a 3-0 Tuesday night defeat to promotion contenders Billericay Town.
The results leave the Rooks in 15th place and just nine points above the relegation zone with nine games remaining. While there were some encouraging elements to both performances, familiar issues arose - conceding too easily and failing to convert chances.
Speaking after the Cray Valley defeat, Nelson said: “It’s about character when you're not able to put any wins together. It's about making sure that we hold them accountable and they hold each other accountable.
“If I were to bring you upstairs before the game, you'd understand they're not low in their in their morale. It’s about making sure that it translates onto the pitch, because ultimately, we're not seeing that at the moment.”
Assistant manager Nzinga concurred, explaining the management team’s efforts to get their squad out of this rut. “We spoke to them one-to-one on the phone and after training, before training, to make sure that their mindset is right,” said Nzinga.
“But it seemed that the spirit in the group was high on the Thursday training session, and was probably one of the best that we've had in a long time.”
Ultimately, that did not lead to a positive result in the Cray Valley game, while the Rooks got off to a poor start in the Billericay contest and found themselves 3-0 down at half-time. This partly came down to the poor execution of a strict defensive strategy.
“We had to hold the players accountable,” said Nzinga. “Adhering to the game plan is bare minimum, and [so is] trying to expose some of Billericay's weaknesses and playing with intensity to match theirs.
“I think we showed that in the second half, had a lot more attacking threat and got our key players on the ball earlier. We had chances and were unlucky in and around the box, but that's what a Lewes team should look like; battling, winning duels, making blocks.”
This Saturday, the Rooks head to 3rd-placed Brentwood Town, 3pm.
With just two wins and five goals in their past 11 games, Lewes will desperately hope for something to change.