WHEN we didn’t score any goals from our previous couple of games, it was important to change something to see if we could get the rub of the green.

So I took the decision to go with two down the middle and it was then a case of either going 3-5-2 or 4-4-2.

We lost Michael Townsend the day before but I had planned on going with a back three because I feel that you are better with a midfield three as well.

Looking at the personnel we had available, we had O’Neil Thompson, who can play centre-half, Richard Rose came into the set-up to play on the left-hand side of the three and Janos Kovacs.

That allowed me to play with two strikers, the two full-backs became wing-backs and the only person slightly out of position was Joe Colbeck.

He is a natural wide man but he does come inside and has done in past games as when we played 4-3-3 at Crewe.

It was a natural progression and we had worked on it for five days.

The unfortunate thing is that, after working on it for a week, you lose a goal to a set play and everyone says the system is wrong.

But whatever system you use, you have to defend a free-kick and you have to defend a long ball.

At half-time we were two-nil down and you begin to question yourself and whether the system was right.

But it was individual errors and not the system which caused the two goals.

At half-time, I had to look at it and think how we could get back into the game and so we took Thompson off and went to 4-4-2.

But all the talking and reorganising at half-time went out of the window because within a minute we had conceded again.

So heads went down, confidence dropped and it became an uphill struggle.

Over the last few games we have had a lot of shots on goal; then, last Saturday, Burton had a shot which came off Richard Rose and went in the top corner.

We’ve not had that sort of rub of the green or decisions going our way when we needed them.

We have to make our own luck but if you play like we did at Burton, you don’t deserve any luck with a performance like that.

On Saturday, hand on heart, I can say that we did not perform as a group.

We were second best in every department.

Every individual lost his battle and I lost the game to my opposing manager.

Sometimes you have to put your hands up and say we were not at the races; last Saturday was one of those days.

This Saturday, against Oxford, we need a performance from the players, we need to score goals and we need an atmosphere in the stadium.

Oxford are likely to bring around 1,000 people so it should be like a cup-tie.

Players should not need motivation from the crowd but it will certainly help after the last couple of games.