LEE Sinnott had some 'strong words' for his Altrincham players but still backed them to deliver a points return more in keeping with their early-season form after a frustrating Bank Holiday weekend in the Vanarama Conference.

After outplaying Southport but falling to an injury-time winner on Saturday, Alty suffered more agony after Tom Marshall missed out on a late equaliser against Gateshead on Monday by

blazing over with the goal at his mercy.

It left Alty with just a solitary win over Bristol Rovers to show

for their endeavours so far, and Sinnott said: "It’s a strange conundrum at the moment, because, of the five games we’ve played, it’s only the opener at Aldershot where you could argue we didn’t deserve something.

"In all the others, particularly at Southport, we did more than enough, but I don’t want us continually saying we’ve played well but got nothing to show for it.

"There were some strong words for the players, because we’ve got to start taking chances when they come along and we can’t give away soft goals. That applies at any level, but, as we

are finding out, it’s more relevant than ever in this division.

"The difference between getting our just rewards or not is minimal. The gap is tiny, but at this level, the effect is massive. We’ve got to close it, and that means failing to convert chances and conceding

soft goals has to stop now.

"We knew Gateshead’s style, and how they would have plenty of possession, and our plan of countering that with a 4-5-1 formation was working extremely well. But you switch off for a second, as we did just before half-time, and you pay.

"Apart from the goal, we handled the first half as I wanted us to and really should have been ahead, when you consider the early chance for Damian Reeves and what looked a very strong case for a penalty for handball.

"It was a wonderful header for their goal, but it came from our possession needlessly breaking down and then one or two people getting caught a little bit out of position.

"We changed the system to 3-5-2 in the second half, and, in a final roll of the dice, went 3-4-3 near the end. It so nearly paid off, with that late chance for Tom, but again that’s a reminder of how we need

to be more clinical, as well as that bit tighter at the back.

"But I believe in these players, and we’re not being outclassed or outplayed. Not a bit of it. Those fine lines are hurting us at the moment, but it’s up to us collectively to deal with it."