LEE Sinnott believes promotion-chasing Altrincham are back on track after an impressive performance in a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Boston United.

The Alty manager, who has recruited left-back Andy Smart from Trafford and signed Ossett defender Andy Milne as emergency cover, urged his players to banish the memory of the previous Saturday’s bitterly-disappointing home defeat by Bishops Stortford.

They rose to the challenge with a second-half equaliser from James Lawrie and last-gasp effort from Damian Reeves that would have won it but for a marginal offside decision.

“I asked the linesman politely how far Damian was off, and he put his finger and thumb together,” said Sinnott, who is looking for more of the same from his side against Solihull Moors at Moss Lane this Saturday.

“That’s how tight it was and how close we were to winning. But the main thing for me was the performance. It was the total opposite to the week before, and that was important. We had to show our true capabilities, and we did.

“It was exactly the response I wanted, a good start and even a positive response to going behind against the run of play. Often at half-time, when you have done well without reward, there can be a dip, but we kept at it and were certainly good value for the equaliser.”

On his new signings, Sinnott said: “Left-back is a specialist position, but Nicky Clee has done an excellent job there. He is comfortable on the ball, as we know, and has also managed his defensive duties really well.

“Andy Smart’s arrival is an opportunity to move Nicky back to what people would class his natural position on the left of midfield, but I’ll have to chew that over.

“Really good left-footers are hard to come by, but Andy fits into that category. Like Kieran Walmsley, Shaun Densmore and Nicky, he is comfortable in possession and can deliver a good ball, either a dangerous one into the box or to a team-mate.

“I appreciate Ossett’s help over the other Andy. If we need him on a day when Ossett are also playing, it will be a case of negotiating with them and seeing what Andy thinks.”