BACK-TO-BACK defeats has meant Warrington Town’s recent good form has hit the buffers.
As such, manager Mark Beesley wants to see improvement from his players on the mental side of the game as they switch their focus to the FA Trophy.
Saturday’s second-round tie at Cantilever Park sees them welcome Guiseley, whom they beat 3-1 in the Northern Premier League earlier this month.
Town have lost both their games since then, however, as Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Marske United followed a 2-1 reverse at Whitby Town in midweek.
Should they progress through Saturday’s tie, Yellows will have a chance of securing a lucrative tie against National League opposition with the likes of Wrexham, Notts County and Chesterfield entering the competition in the next round.
Beesley wants to see that potential reward refocus his players following their recent blip.
“It's really important as it’s the next game and we’ve performed well in it this year,” he said of the FA Trophy tie.
“The South Shields game in the last round was one of our best performances of the season, so we need to get back on that track.
“We’ve got a big opportunity to progress and we’ll take it as seriously as any other game.”
A sixth-minute header from Andrew May proved enough for Marske to take home three points at the weekend as they held off some heavy second-half pressure from Yellows.
Beesley, who rated his side’s first-half showing as among the worst of his time at the club, says his side need to become better at making sure they survive poor displays having taken at least something from them.
“We’ve lost a bit of momentum and that’s a concern,” he said.
“We had a great little run results wise but when we don’t play well, we don’t win.
“We need to develop on the mental side so that when we don’t play well, we don’t lose matches at least.
“We’ve not played at our best on Tuesday and in the first half on Saturday and we’ve come away with nothing.
“We need to come away from those types of games having got a point or even having nicked a win.
“Luckily, we’ve got no midweek games now so we’ve got time to hopefully get a couple of people back.”
Town will have Jay Harris back from suspension for Saturday’s game but will have to check on the likes of Matty McDonald and Josh Seary, who both sat out at the weekend.
Full-back Seary will at least be around for the longer-term, with his loan from Preston North End having been extended until January 2.
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