Sports are stuck in a rut ahead of huge matches

Football - Promotion-chasers beaten at bottom club

Peterborough Sports are stuck in a rut and there’s no easy way out according to manager Jimmy Dean.

The city side were beaten 2-1 at bottom club Lowestoft last weekend to make it just one Southern League Premier Division Central win in 2022.

What had looked like a stroll into the end-of-the-season play-offs has now become a dogfight for Sports who tackle two of the top three in their next three matches.

Sports host second-placed Coalville - a side that smashed them 6-2 earlier this seasonat the Bee Arena on Saturday (3pm) and a trip to championselect Banbury is also on the horizon.

Dean’s men are at least five points clear of the teams outside the play-off places, but that gap could disappear quickly unless there’s an improvement in form.

“We are in a rut and we have to get out of it quickly,” Dean said. “I was angry on Saturday as we were playing the team at the bottom who were in worse form than us. It was a long way to go for what we produced.

“We scored in the first minute and looked electric for the first 15 minutes, but once we conceded we capitulated

and that’s happened too often recently. In the end Lowestoft deserved their win.

“We are not reacting well to adversity. When things go wrong we become tentative and negative which has to be a lack of confidence and we have to snap out of it. We have some big players who need to do better and I’ve spoken to them about it.

“I’ve also had a long hard look at myself to see what I can do better. It’s down to all of us to sort it out and quickly because if we don’t we can forget the play-offs. The 6-2 defeat at Coalville is an incentive for us on Saturday, but it’s not the main one. We just need to win. We need to see a game out.”

Dean gave a debut to

former King’s Lynn promotion-winner Ryan Hawkins at Lowestoft, but he’s still seeking new players. Winger Josh Moreman is out for some time because of injury and Dean described that news as a ‘massive blow.’

Josh McCammon fired Sports in front at Lowestoft, but the hosts equalised direct from a corner and won the game in first-half injury time. Mark Jones missed a lastminute sitter for Sport.

Jimmy Dean: ‘I’ve had a long look at myself to see what I can do better’

Peterborough Sports manager Jimmy Dean (seated) has some problems to solve. Photo: James Richardson.