WE have now turned in two disappointing performances in successive home games against Woking and Burton to add to our previous home defeats by Leigh RMI and Tamworth.

It's particularly galling that, whereas away from home our football - and the goals - have flowed, in three of those four silly defeats we've failed to score and given goals away.

The character of a side is usually judged on its away performances but to be successful your home ground has to be a fortress where opposition teams will not relish coming to play.

Individual errors have cost us dear in our two latest home appearances. In parts of the games we played reasonably well but I was disappointed in some players' performances.

We made a change to the formation at Gravesend and Northfleet and went to three centre-backs for the first time this season and gave the full-backs instructions to push forward.

On the evidence of that game the change worked a treat but, as I said to the players on Saturday, it's not systems which win games it's players and their individual displays. On Saturday, three or four of them played well below the level they produced at Gravesend.

We have taken steps at this crucial stage of the season to strengthen the squad by bringing in Tamika Mkandawire on loan from West Bromwich Albion and signed Simon Travis from Stevenage.

Both did well on Saturday, particularly Simon Travis who was given the man of the match award and probably rightly so.

When a player like that becomes available whom I know can play, having tracked him from Telford to Forest Green and then to Stevenage, it was too good an opportunity to miss.

He can play anywhere down the right or the left and can fit in in a variety of positions, so we may well see that when Ryan Green becomes available again after injury.

We can't always compete for players, losing out because of the wages that other clubs can pay but, with Simon living in the West Midlands, this time location - as well as our league position - worked to our advantage.

I would still like to sign a midfield player and another front player and the work is continuing to bring people in.

It's going to be a tight run-in with lots of fixtures involving our promotion play-off rivals playing each other. Chester now have the cushion of a very good eight-point lead at the top but they won't be thinking that the title race is over yet and neither will we.