by John Edwards

LEE Sinnott admitted his Altrincham players had been outplayed in all departments by Vanarama Conference pacesetters Barnet but urged them to banish the memory of a 5-0 defeat and turn their attention to this coming Saturday’s home game with Welling United.

The Altrincham manager made no attempt to disguise the way Barnet bossed proceedings and could have run up an even more emphatic scoreline.

But, mindful Alty’s season will be shaped by how they fare against the likes of Welling, he was keen to ensure there were no lasting ill-effects from a chastening experience against a side who already look

destined for a quick return to the Football League.

"You’ve got to be honest about things and say they were the best we have come across all season and were better than us all over the park."

He said. "But it was quite a short talk I had with the players after the game. I asked one simple question. How do you rate your performance? And they were totally honest with their answers.

"It’s not nice enduring a tough afternoon like that, but the important thing now is to dust ourselves down and move on to the next game.

"Confidence is a major commodity for us this season, so while we will have a look at what happened, we won’t dwell on it.

"We had a couple of chances before Barnet scored, and there was

another late on when Damian Reeves went through, but the lesson once more

was that, in this league, it’s about quality in both boxes. It’s how you defend on one and how you execute in the other."

"Barnet were better in both regards, so it’s up to us to improve. We need to be brighter and to play at a better tempo.

"There was a fair bit of travelling in the Conference North, but the demands in this division are far greater, and not just in terms of distance covered. The games are more intense, we are having to work harder for opportunities and the mental aspect takes more out of players.

"But this is the challenge we wanted. We want to test ourselves at this level, so it’s up to us to show we are up to it. If we perform as I know we are capable of, we will pick up points and be fine. But we

were off the pace at Barnet, against a team who certainly were not. Hence the result."