We face relegation battle admits boss

Stafford manager Chris Brindley admits his side are in a relegation battle after they were drubbed at Farsley.

A 4-0 defeat at the Throstle Nest may not be as bad as it looked - performance wise - but it was the sort of result that everyone feared after the traumas of the last fortnight.

Rangers' are still desperately short of players - even Brindley had to name himself on the bench - and they will need a lot more if they are to succeed this season.

The sad reality is that, from gunning for promotion from the Blue Square North as one of the teams coming down from above, they face a very real fight just to hold water where they are.

Fancy a stint in the Unibond League? Most would rather not and Rangers will need to keep that in mind if they are to get out of this mess.

Relegation would be unthinkable, but the boss is braced for the worst.

He said: "We are in a dogfight, there is no doubt about it. We have got to damn hard from here on in. I am sure things will get better int time, but we need to start picking up points.

"I am not pulling the wool over anybody's eyes, I am just being perfectly honest. We may have a nine point buffer from the relegation spots - but we have AFC Telford home and away next.

"No one is down about it, we know we have to do - remain in the league."

It was literally whoever Stafford had played on Saturday, match fit or not. The patched up side coped admirably, before the silly goals started flying in.

It will get better, as Brindley notes.

He said: "Some of the lads on Saturday were lacking that bit of match practice, so started to tire in the second half. Lads like Nick Amos and Ishmael Reid, who have not had a lot of game time recently, need matches under their belt.

"We gave away silly goals down to individual errors, something that has happened all season to be fair. We will learn from it and we have to get on with it.

"The scoreline flattered Farsley a bit, to be fair."