DEFIANT Andy Ritchie refused to contemplate a League I relegation battle in the wake of Town’s 3-0 setback at Tranmere and insisted: “I believe in my players – now they must start to believe in themselves.”
Victory in Birkenhead last night would have cut the gap on Tranmere, who were sixth beforehand, to just three points.
But instead Ronnie Moore’s Rovers went top of the table while Town remained 16th, just three points above the dreaded drop zone – with today’s matches to come.
The season’s not yet a third of the way through, but after a bright start of three wins in four, Ritchie’s side have slumped alarmingly.
The defeat at Prenton Park, inflicted by Paul McLaren (29 minutes), Shane Sherriff (53) and Gareth Taylor (83) and seen by 6,008, was a fifth in succession away from home for Town, who have won just once in their last nine league outings.
Ritchie, who hopes to extend the loans of defender Richard Keogh and midfielder Ronnie Wallwork and bring in a new striker next week, admitted: “At the moment, we have problems in both penalty boxes.
“We have to be sharper and compete better in both. That means getting our heads on the end of things, making those blocks and being more alert.”
The manager, who gave 17-year-old forward Danny Broadbent a debut as a 71st-minute substitute, added: “We’re having a bit of a crisis up front, and I certainly think we’re a striker short, a situation I’ll be trying hard to rectify next week.
“But we’re having plenty of possession, passing the ball well and getting into good positions. We’re just lacking that end product.
“Defensively we’re doing okay in open play, but we’re struggling against set-pieces, which is a collective thing rather than just being down to the back four.
“We’ve definitely got the talent to be much higher up the table.
“I have good players in my squad, and I believe in them.Now they have to start believing in themselves.”
Last night’s match was watched by club captain Jon Worthington, who flies to Germany tomorrow for a possible operation on his nagging groin injury.
Meanwhile former Town manager Peter Jackson is believed to be down to the last two in the race to become the new manager of League II Lincoln City. It’s thought Brian Little is the other name in the frame.
