Marcus Ebdon admits that his Spalding United side are lacking confidence ahead of Saturday’s Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field clash with play-off rivals Romulus (3pm).
The Tulips have lost five league games on the spin and look a far cry from the side Ebdon steered to five wins and a draw in the previous six matches.
Amazingly, Spalding haven’t moved from fourth in the table during their losing run – but they are now vulnerable to being overtaken by a host of teams behind them that have games in hand.
Romulus are level on points with the Tulips in fifth, but are one of the few teams to have played more games than them.
Ebdon, who hopes to draft in a couple of new signings before the clash, still believes that his side can turn things around and challenge for promotion. But he wants to see more from a group of players that are currently under-achieving.
“We’ve had a few dodgy decisions go against us in recent weeks,” said the Spalding supremo. “But we’re also playing like a team with no confidence.
“Nobody wants to get on the ball – and consequently we’re not creating an awful lot going forward. That’s a consequence of losing a few matches on the spin.
“Obviously losing Mitch (Griffiths) and Jake (Newman) over the Christmas period didn’t help, but there’s still an awful lot of quality at the club.
“We just need to get a result to change our fortunes – and fingers crossed that comes on Saturday. I’m working hard to bring a few new faces in.
“The one positive for us is that we’ve stayed in fourth place. We’ve clearly allowed other sides to catch up and build up some games in hand, but it’s better to have points on the board.
“It’s simple to say, but we desperately need to get some points on the board.”
Ebdon doesn’t think Romulus, a side he rates, will be looking forward to their trip to the Sir Halley. The play-off hopefuls are unbeaten in three games and possess a real goal threat in Luke Keen, the division’s top scorer with 16.
The pair drew 1-1 on the opening day of the season, but have both changed significantly since then.
“They’re a decent outfit,” added Ebdon. “I doubt they’ll relish our playing surface, though, it’s in a terrible state after the recent rain.
“It’s all about the result on Saturday, though. We need to stop the rot.”
Ebdon is sweating on the fitness of key defender Neal Spafford, who picked up a calf injury in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Stocksbridge Park Steels.
