United boss Paul Simpson was typically honest in his assessment of the away defeat at Leyton Orient on Saturday afternoon.
“It is a tough one to take, but the truth is we haven’t done enough,” he said. “Again, we didn’t have enough quality in the final third even though we got into some really good areas.
“I have to say, it’s down to the whole team that we haven’t shown enough quality in the final third. We’ve got to get back to producing the kind of quality in the final third as a team that has brought us 58 goals.
“Unfortunately we’ve now gone four games without scoring and we need to get back to it as soon as possible. Believe it or not, it is still in our hands, and we’ve just got to make sure we keep doing things properly.”
“I’m massively disappointed,” he added. “It’s an unfortunate goal we’ve conceded, but you’ve just got to be honest and we have to say that we didn’t show enough quality in the final third.
“If you don’t show any quality and you don’t execute things properly you’re not going to score goals. That’s why we haven’t scored any in the last four games because we haven’t found that quality.
“We’re talking about a group of players who have that quality and what I’ve just told them is that they have to get back to it. We didn’t score 58 goals by chance, we did it because things were done properly.
“We’ve got to grab this by the short and curlys now because otherwise we’re going to let the fantastic opportunity we’ve given ourselves go. In football these chances don’t come very often so you have to take them when you get them.”
Speaking more about the goal that won the game, he commented: “It’s a horrible one, it took two deflections before it went in, but overall I thought it was there for us today.
“It was an opportunity but it’s another game gone, and we’ve just got to get back to it. Their goal, it took the first deflection then deflected off Jon Mellish’s knee and it completely changed the course of the ball.
“It’s tough to take and the truth is, did we do enough to win it, and you’d probably say no. But did they do enough to win it, I’m not sure they did, but they’ve got the points.
“It’s come for them from a goal like that and maybe that’s the kind of thing that isn’t going our way. We’ve just got to dig deep, stick together and go again as soon as we possibly can. Preferably that’ll be on Friday.”
At the other end there was a good opportunity for Mellish to strike back, but the slightest of touches from the keeper robbed him of his moment.
“He just didn’t quite strike it right,” he explained. “He did really well, we pressed them really well with good recoveries, then to get the nick on it and pass it forward.
“There was a little bit of confusion and Mells got himself in and did the right thing going round the goalkeeper. The keeper got a little touch on the ball, which disrupted it, and he couldn’t sort his feet out to finish it.
“Maybe it’s that little bit of things that are not quite going our way, whether that be luck, I don’t really know, but you also have to make it happen.
“You have to do it properly, you have to execute those moments properly. We’re getting free kicks in good areas and we’re hitting it over the bar, we’re missing the runners, we’re putting it out of play and it just isn’t acceptable.
“That’s not what we are, it isn’t what’s got us to fourth in the table. We need to do something about it because this group of players are better than they’re showing at the moment.
“We’ve got to get back to it quickly because we are going to let the opportunity we’ve given ourselves go. It’s a fantastic opportunity that we’ve created from the way we’ve done things in the first 33 or 34 games, and let’s say the last ones just haven’t been done properly. We’ve got to get back to it, we have to.
“The thing is, there was definitely something there for us. There were moments today where we could and should have got something more out of the game, but could and should counts for nothing, we have to go and do it, simple as that.”
Certainly doing their bit were the 1,177 away fans.
“They were absolutely fantastic,” he agreed. “The supporters aren’t to blame, they’ve come in their numbers again and got behind us.
“Credit to the Leyton Orient supporters as well, they made it a really good atmosphere, and I don’t think either team really thrived in it.
“There is definitely a little bit of tension around in the stadium, and we’re finding that as well, so we’ve got to make sure that in front of our own fans next week, where we’re expecting a really good crowd, and we do hope they come out in their numbers and get behind us, and I hope the players are able to deal with that.
“But our fans have been absolutely magnificent, not just today, the whole of this season, and the end of last season. Everybody’s rallying round, we’ve earned the right to have that backing because of the results we’ve got.
“Now I hope they stay with us. I know everybody’s getting nervous, results are making nerves for us, but we’ve just got to go again, we really have to. We can’t throw our toys out now, we have to keep our heads, keep nice and calm, and make sure we’re ready to go next Friday at home.
“We all know it’s not done. There’s a lot to play for, a lot of teams chasing and trying to catch us. I’ve said it all along, if we don’t do our job properly, the other results will be irrelevant.
“We haven’t got enough points to be promoted as we sit here at the moment, we still need a few more wins, more than a few, and the sooner we get back to that and take confidence from that and get the belief back into us, hopefully we’ll be ok.”