‘Inexcusable’ - Brackley Town boss Andy Whing identifies what Saints can improve after Woking defeat
Andy Whing has admitted that Brackley Town must toughen up if they are to avoid relegation from the National League.
The Saints boss has lost all seven of his matches in charge to date and the latest was arguably the worst of the lot, as Woking ran out 4-1 victors at St James Park on Saturday.
Brackley played fairly well for the first hour or so as they went toe-to-toe with their opponents, however a host of defensive blunders allowed Woking to go on a rampage midway through the second half.
All four of the goals Brackley conceded were within just 11 minutes as Whing’s men dropped deeper than he had asked them to go, making them vulnerable.
“I think that 11 minutes were inexcusable, to be perfectly honest. The goals were very, very poor,” Whing told this newspaper.
“The first goal went in and the heads went, which is obviously tough to deal with.
“I’m obviously extremely disappointed. I thought the fans were magnificent. I can understand the frustrations at the end.
“I take massive accountability for that. We were nowhere near good enough. Those 11 minutes, I just don’t know what happened.
“You've got to have pride. You've got to keep going. Even though things are not going great, you've got to work harder.”
Whing has previously heaped praise on his players despite defeat, believing that Brackley have played better than the results suggest. But that wasn’t the case after the loss to Woking.
Instead, the head coach suggested Brackley, now just two points above the drop zone, were “a little bit too nice” and can improve in that aspect.
“I’m not saying I'm nasty or anything like that, but I think the lads have to be a little bit nasty with each other as well,” added Whing.
“I only hear one or two voices. I think when the chips go down, that's when you need your big voices and your big players and your big personalities to come out.
“I didn't really see that. I think we need to be a little bit nastier as a group. I think we're just too nice.
“I'll keep saying they're a fantastic group. They're a really good group of lads, but you don't win anything by being nice.”