SHRIVENHAM manager Sam Collier wants to stick with his players as they look to snap out of their disappointing run of form in the Hellenic League Premier Division.

Shrivvy slipped to a demoralising 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Reading Town on Saturday, which was their fifth loss in a row and seventh in all competitions.

Collier’s side failed to make their dominance of possession count as they were undone by two direct goals, with Reading’s Danny Harscroft netting twice to cancel out Steve Robertson’s opener, and the Shrivvy boss is desperate to find the remedy to his team’s slump. “At the moment, we’re in a bit of a rut. We’ve got two options – we stick together and find a solution or we go out and get other players but at the moment, I want to stick with the lads,” said Collier.

“They’re obviously hurt but something has to change and it has to happen quick because although we’re saying ‘it’s only nine games’, it will soon be ten. It passes quickly.

“We’ve got a lot of lads that want to play and pass it but at the end of the day, I don’t think teams are going to win many games trying to pass the hell out of it.

“We have to be harder to beat. As good as we are going forward, that’s no acceptable defending. And that’s not the back four and the goalkeeper, that’s all over.

“We’ve got a couple of days now to have some thinking time and see what we can do. I don’t know what the answers are at the moment but we’ll soon find out.

“Like I keep saying, no-one’s going to feel sorry for us so we have to sort this out ourselves.”

Reading keeper Josh Helmore denied John Rees early on before visiting defender Michael Hancock somehow blazed over from a matter of yards, with an open goal at his mercy.

Late in the half, Robertson played a smart one-two with strike partner Rees before firing narrowly wide of the far post before the two combined once again midway through the second period, with Robertson’s powerful drive taking a nick off a Reading defender before nestling in the left-hand side of the net.

Adam Corcoran’s superb last-gasp challenge saw the Shrivvy defender nick the ball off the toe of Carl Davies but the visitors equalised shortly afterwards as they waltzed through the heart of their hosts, allowing Harscroft to round keeper Aaron Moody and squeeze an effort inside the near post to make it 1-1 with around 15 minutes to go.

Then, Liam Edmonson’s shanked clearance saw the ball drop to Harscroft in the box and despite having been knocked off his feet, the Reading man showed great invention to stretch out a leg and loop a strike into the top corner from his spot on the floor.

In the final minute, substitute Ed Gadd almost netted a third for the visitors as he struck the base of the Shrivenham post with his first and only touch of the game.

Collier added: “We dictated the game. Once again, a side have come (to us) and we’ve been the better side and got nothing out of it.

“I’m bored of saying it and I’m sure people are bored of hearing it – the bottom line is, we’ve got to defend better than we did.

“We can’t give the ball away up front and be as naive and as open as that. It’s not good enough. Something has to change.

“To be honest, they were one of the poorer sides we’ve played and the fact that we’ve been beaten is hard to take.”