Leese blasts 'worst-ever' display

Feb 2 2012 By Greg Burns

Andy Leese

ANDY Leese blasted his Chesham United side's midweek defeat at Bashley as the worst performance of his five year reign.

The Generals boss was seething at the 'abject' display his players put in at the struggling Hampshire side that saw them go in 3-0 down at half-time.

James Stokoe put them ahead on nine minutes before a quick-fire Mark Gamble double put Bashley in total control.

Simon Thomas netted a consolation for Chesham in the second-half but it masked over a miserable night for Leese's side.

He said: “I am struggling to think of a game that was harder to watch in my time at the club. We lost 8-1 to Windsor in the county cup but this performance was the worst ever.

“It was shocking from start to finish. When the players go out and play the way they want to play rather than follow the instructions I give them then you are on a road to ruin.

“It was awful to watch and be a part of and we could have quite easily lost by seven or eight goals if it wasn't for Shane Gore (goalkeeper).”

Chesham remain in the play-offs but the chasing pack have closed in on Leese's side as the race for promotion hots up.

Mid-table Banbury United visit The Meadow this weekend and the Generals boss said his player's poor form is close to turning every game into a must-win clash.

“The players believe they belong at the top of the table,” he said. “But they need to prove it. The defeat is still raw but, in the cold light of day, I guess we have to give the players the benefit of the doubt.

“But they need to do some serious soul-searching because if they think they can turn up and put that type of performance in every now and then and still get promoted then they are in for a shock.

“I thought that if we carried on playing how we are then we would soon be turning every game into a must-win match.

“No manager wants to set up their team like that but it seems as though we have hit that point starting with Banbury on Saturday.”