MATT Clarke admits ‘recruitment mistakes’ are contributing to Redditch United’s poor run of form following a 1-0 defeat at relegation-threatened AFC Sudbury on Non-League Day.
A late goal from Ryan Henshaw at the MEL Group Stadium stretched Redditch’s winless run to nine matches in the league.
The result means the Reds sit 18th in the Southern League Premier Central table, just one place and five points above the relegation zone.
And Clarke hopes to add at least two players to his squad this week in a boost to the club’s survival hopes.
Clarke said: “There’s not much in it, we didn’t create much, they were a little bit sharper than us.
“We got in some real good areas in the final third but we just seemed to lose our way.
“The subs didn’t have the effect that we wanted, we seemed to run out of steam and struggled leg wise.
“We have to back ourselves, we haven’t had to face this kind of adversity for a while, it’s an eye-opener for myself.
“We’ve identified two or three boys who will come in this week and make us better.
“There are some players who are really low on confidence and really out of form.
“It’s clear to everybody, we don’t score enough goals, we’ve been nowhere near good enough up top.
“It’s not just the forwards, it’s the build-up play, I don’t think we’re providing the forwards with enough opportunities.
“We’re relying on everybody else around us not to take points and we have to be better.
“This bad run of form is on me, we’ve made mistakes from a recruitment point of view.
“We just have to believe in ourselves and back ourselves and keep going.
“We’ve only lost one game at home in five months, I’m hopeful we can get enough points from our home games.”
The game’s only goal came in controversial fashion on 84 minutes as the referee deemed Henshaw’s header to have crossed the line following consultation with his assistant.
United protested furiously, believing Kyle Rowley had headed the ball clear before it crossed the line.
Redditch are next in action against local rivals Bromsgrove Sporting on Saturday, March 29 with kick-off at 3pm at the Valley Stadium.
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