Boss urges players to stand up and be counted after Stags slip into bottom two.
Manager Adam Murray wants his players to ‘stand up and be counted’ after our quest for survival in Sky Bet League Two took a dent with a 2-1 defeat at Carlisle United today.
Vadaine Oliver’s 45th minute opener had us on course for a precious victory, but the Cumbrians fought back to pick up three points, which sees them leapfrog us in the league table.
Results elsewhere mean that our side drop into the relegation zone – level on points with York City, though we do have a game in hand on the Minstermen.
A win next week at home to Stevenage would see us move out of the bottom two, regardless of other results.
When asked if this was his toughest defeat since taking the managerial reigns, Murray replied: “Yes. I think the fact we’ve dropped into the bottom two makes it a lot harder to take. From going from a winning position away from home to losing the game is tough.
“I’m obviously not happy [with the league position], but it’s there in black and white. We’re in the bottom two and we have to do everything that we can to get out of it.”
Murray was also unhappy with the build up which led to Carlisle’s second goal.
The U’s broke away through substitute David Amoo on a counter-attack, before he squared the ball for Charlie Wyke, who set-up Kyle Dempsey for what proved to be the match-winner.
“For the second goal, we didn’t get hit on the counter-attack; we got punished for our own set play,” continued Murray.
“It wasn’t as if we won the ball off them, gone and attacked and then they’ve scored. Our set-up was right at the edge of their box, and the people there didn’t do their job. If they do their job, the break [counter-attack] stops there and the goal doesn’t happen.”
“Players have to take responsibility to a certain degree because they all know their jobs. There are no grey areas, it’s black and white, and they work on things constantly.”
Our gaffer added: “We’re in a position now where we need men to stand up because we can’t carry any passengers. I see this challenge getting a lot tougher before it gets easier.”
