Joshua: We Must Be Harder To Beat

Valley boss Grant Joshua is determined to reinvigorate his squad after the midweek defeat against Boldmere St Michaels.

The 2-1 home defeat to the Mikes means Rugby have now lost all four league games so far at Butlin Road this season despite two good wins in the FA Trophy at home.

Reflecting on the Boldmere result, manager Grant Joshua admitted his side are still searching for consistency but backed his young squad to come through the current run stronger. He said: "I feel for the boys at the minute, the 10-minute lapse against Lichfield has taken all the confidence away and we have to regain that feeling that we had against Racing Club Warwick last week."

"As we have found out, a week in football is a long time and you can run into some unexpected issues that totally throw you off and you then find yourself scratching your head.

"These lads I will protect to the hilt because I know the dressing room and I know the lads who are in it.

"The season is going to be an up and down season, no doubt. We, together, have to not get too high with the highs and too low with the lows and I know that is frustrating for the supporters but the more confidence and support we give these young lads then the better they will be."

On the setbacks in the game, Joshua added: "On Tuesday night we conceded two penalties and played with 10 men again which is far from ideal and when your luck’s out, your luck’s out.

"It seems like every decision, every mistake is going against us and we have to use that as fuel and build that mentality of ‘us against the rest’ and become harder to play against."

Joshua reiterated that he and his staff are committed to turning things around: "I'm not happy with results as you can probably imagine but there are circumstances behind the inconsistencies that we're facing currently and we're working on solutions to fix our problems – but they have to be the right solutions. We have to walk to the right ones and not run to the wrong ones.

"Rest assured, my staff and I work seven days a week to achieve better results for the football club and I'm unequivocally confident in our group of players.

"We just need a few bodies in the door to help us out at the moment."

Looking ahead, Joshua urged supporters to get behind the side again in Friday’s FA Trophy tie: "I hope to see the travelling numbers on Friday against Worcester City. A tough, but exciting game that I just cannot wait for."