Alan Devonshire quietly confident he can dig Maidenhead United out of trouble

Tuesday’s 4-2 defeat at Aldershot Town sent Maidenhead United to the bottom of the National League table, however, there’s no sense of panic from Magpies’ boss Alan Devonshire despite his side’s failure to win a league game since mid-August.

United have played 13 league matches since they last tasted success in the league, a 1-0 home win over Dagenham & Redbridge back on August 19.

But the man who’s kept Maidenhead at the top level of Non League football for the past six seasons is quietly confident he can do so again – provided he gets players back from injury soon.

据统计,处女膜可能最糟糕的一面in the division on current form, but performances have been better than results would suggest. Far from sleepwalking their way to relegation, the side have played well in recent weeks to draw with leaders Chesterfield, away to Oldham Athletic and at home to Rochdale.

They’ve also been leading in each of their last two defeats to Barnet (3-2) and Aldershot Town (4-2) and had certain decisions gone their way, could have been basking in a six-game unbeaten run in all competitions.

United host ninth-placed Eastleigh at York Road on Saturday.

“We’re lacking a squad at the moment, and we just need a few boys back,” said Devonshire. “We’ve got a big game on Saturday (against Eastleigh at home) and I’ll have a look at things after that if the injuries are not clearing up. I might have to add a couple.

“我没感到恐慌。我不恐慌。我,etly confident that when we get the players back, we’ll be ok. But we’ve got to get them back. If not, then we’ll have to go to plan B.

“Eastleigh are decent. They’re good on their day. Most games come down to very fine margins. In the last four games now we’ve been in front. We’ve ended up drawing a couple and losing a couple, so we’ve got to try and see these games through.

“It’s not as if we’re getting tanked or battered by teams. We lack a bit of confidence but it’s not as if we’re not performing at the minute. We’ve just got to make sure we get everyone together.”

While certain games have been laced with controversy and misfortune, Devonshire knows he can’t keep blaming bad luck or poor refereeing decisions for his side’s current plight.

He felt the Magpies had the better of Saturday's 3-2 defeat at Barnet where Dale Gorman’s injury-time winner led to the Magpies boss being shown a straight red card.

The Magpies boss was incensed that Gorman’s goal was allowed to stand when goalkeeper Craig Ross’s view was obscured by a Barnet player who was ‘two yards offside’. Sam Beckwith – for a second yellow card – and coach Liam Vaughan were also ordered off in a crazy final few minutes in North London.

United then squandered a two-nil lead – and felt the hosts should have been reduced to 10 men - as they lost 4-2 at Aldershot Town on Tuesday evening to slide to the foot of the table.

Devonshire said: “I’ve been sent off now three times in nine years and twice by the same referee.

“Their player is six-foot tall, he’s in the middle of the goal when the ball went over him. He’s run away from it. The linesman’s put his flag up, he’s two-yards offside.

“How can he not be interfering? We’ve not got VAR, so it’s not as if the referee can have a look. He’s made that decision on his own back, and I don’t understand why.

“We should have won the game on Saturday to be fair, we had enough chances and it’s very frustrating at the minute.”

He added: “It was just individual errors (at Aldershot). We’ve got to get them out of our system. We’re playing quite well when we’ve got the ball. We’ve gone from a side that couldn’t score to a side that are good going forward but are lacking a bit of defensive resilience. We’re also not getting a lot of luck at the moment.

“In yesterday’s (Aldershot) game I thought their number 5 (Coby Rowe) should have been sent off with five minutes to go in the first half with a certain booking.

“But we can’t keep blaming refs and whatever. It’s just very frustrating. I’m frustrated and I know the fans are probably frustrated, but we just need to knuckle down and keep together.”