Ben Mills in defence of his captain

Stafford Rangers striker Ben Mills has leapt to the defence of team-mate Craig McAughtrie after the captain's nightmare on Saturday.

McAughtrie put through his own goal with the score at 1-0 and then conceded a penalty, Tim Ryan converting the spot kick, which led to a straight red card in Saturday's 3-1 home defeat to Stalybridge Celtic.

The skipper will now miss Saturday's visit of Brian Little's Gainsborough Trinity, where Rangers will be desperate for points after losing three games in a row.

Three points are also likely to be scrubbed from their current tally of eight with Ilkeston, where Rangers won 2-0 on August 24, not allowed to play against Redditch at the weekend and in real risk of going out of business, which would see their league record expunged.

But Mills, after absolving McAughtrie of any blame for Saturday's defeat, has issued a rallying cry after his own return to the team after three games out with a hip injury.

He said: "We don't blame Craig, he didn't hold his hands up and he didn't need to, because he didn't do it on purpose and he's as disappointed as the rest of us.

"I felt heavy and one paced, but as a team we were not very good either. We need to improve and I need match practice to get that bit of sharpness back.

"What was thought was a good start but how quickly things can change, it looks like we are going to lose the three points at Ilkeston and have obviously lost the last three games.

"All of a sudden it's panic stations for some people associated with the club, but we have got to stick together during the bad times and hopefully get some more points on the board."