MANAGER Steve Hollick was left to rue two early goals that consigned AFC Totton to a 2-0 defeat at home to Shortwood United in the Southern League South & West, but is refusing to give up on the style of play that he is implementing at the Testwood Stadium.

Hollick returned to the dugout, after missing last week’s 2-2 draw with Wantage Town, to take charge of the 2-0 defeat to Wood, which saw the Gloucestershire outfit score both goals in the opening eight minutes.

Joe White’s header that was ushered over the line by Jake Lee and Tim Haddock’s audacious lob from just past the halfway line left the Stags without a win in their opening three South & West matches.

But Hollick is adamant that Totton will improve.

“Another sloppy ten minutes at the start cost us,” he explained. “It’s really difficult to start chasing games when you concede so early.

“Credit for the second goal because that was a good strike, but it is silly little things that we need to be switched onto.

“There was nobody stood in front of the ball, nobody delaying, so to go 2-0 down so quickly it’s already a battle to get back into the game against another decent Southern League side.

“It’s difficult for us, the way we want to play we need to be firing on all cylinders and, sometimes, we lack a little bit of game intelligence and knowhow.

“We could have used the advantage of the referee a little bit more. Ultimately, take the first ten minutes out it’s a 0-0 draw, they probably come here to set up for that and we’ve played right into their hands.

“We will maintain the principles that we’ll want to get the ball down and play, but it’s Southern League football and when we don’t get the rub of the green we need to roll our sleeves up and dig in.

“I don’t think the lads did that enough today.”

Key man Mike Gosney will undergo a fitness test on Wednesday ahead of the trip to Larkhall while Hollick also has to deal with the impact a series of other injuries is having on his team.

“I still believe we’ve got a strong squad,” he said. “But the injuries don’t help.

“I’m not going to bleat on about that because it’s a squad game and we should have enough depth in the team to cope with the game that we’ve got.

“But it’s difficult to keep chopping and changing. We need to settle the squad and the formation down and the starting XI. Once we do that we will start firing on all cylinders again.”

Former Gosport Borough attacker Gosney was struggling with a reoccurring lower back injury, which saw him pulled off after just 20 minutes against Wood.

“He was having problems with his back in the latter part of the week but, because of who he is, we’ll always try and play him,” Hollick stated.

“He struggling and Dave Penny (physio) was doing wonders with him at the end of the week to get him fit. But he didn’t have acceleration and he’s big enough and brave enough to say that he’s not fit enough to play.”