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Radcliffe joint-manager Bernard Morley says his side must press the reset button after extended their winless run to five games — a slump that has dragged the early high-flyers down the National League North table ahead of Saturday’s FA Trophy trip to Edgar Street.
Radcliffe were third in the table on 11th November, but that strong opening has faded as they now sit ninth with 30 points from 19 games — 11 places above Hereford, who have 20 points from 18 matches.
Speaking after last Tuesday’s 3–1 home defeat against Chester, Morley said the loss — which ended a 12-match unbeaten home run — followed a pattern of “really soft goals” being gifted to opponents.
“When you give the goals away so early on in the first half in the manner that we did, you play right into a Chester side who know how to defend a lead,” he said, adding: “It’s just not acceptable. That’s been the theme for three or four games; we’re giving really soft goals away."
Radcliffe have taken just two points from their last five league games, a sequence that has included defeats to Chester, Southport and Scunthorpe, plus a frustrating draw at Bradford (PA). Their FA Trophy tie at Hereford will be their first match in 10 days after having no fixture on Saturday.
Morley said "experienced and good" players in the back three must stop the defensive lapses that plagued the defeats, but responsibility must also lie with the attacking-minded players who are missing "chance after chance".
The former Chester boss said his side have conceded four goals in the last few games that he doesn’t expect them to concede all season. He felt when Radcliffe's centre-halves make a mistake, the side are punished - but they're not always as lucky with opponents' errors.
Morley added: “We’re working hard for our goals, but at the minute we’re gifting the opposition a head start.”
He admitted the dip in form has been magnified by injuries, suspensions and a weakening bench compared to earlier in the season.
“We’ve got massive players missing again,” he said. “Some through injury, some through discipline. That’s cost us massively.”
Still, Morley insisted Radcliffe remain a strong side going through a predictable bad patch. He now wants to "train hard and forget the last five games".
“We’ve always said every team has that grey area in the season. We've now got to take our medicine, we’ve got to brush ourselves down, reset the button and go again.”
Saturday’s FA Trophy third-round tie presents an opportunity to do exactly that — with £4,500 in prize money for the winners and £1,250 for the losers.
“We don’t play Saturday, which is tough because we can’t put the wrongs right,” Morley said after the Chester defeat, adding: “We go to Hereford in the FA Trophy on the 13th, then we go to Scarborough on the Tuesday night.
"So much to play for, so many games, so many points to play for. We’ve just got to eradicate the stupid mistakes and start believing again.”