ROB Small insists Bowers & Pitsea must put in a much-improved performance if his side are to return to winning ways at Bishop’s Stortford tomorrow.

Bowers saw their three-match winning run come to an end at the hands of East Thurrock United on New Year’s Day.

And boss Small, whose side are 17th in the Isthmian Premier League standings, is seeking a reaction this weekend.

“The bigger concern for me were not the mistakes but that we rolled over and accepted being beaten,” said Small.

“That is not what we want from our group of players and they know that because they are good, honest boys.

“It was a really disappointing afternoon.

“We lost a bit of momentum after three consecutive wins because of a big gap in the fixture list but, at the same time, the boys have been in for training.

“It’s not like the players have just put their feet up and chilled out.

“You often bemoan having too many games at Christmas but, arguably, we could have done with a couple of games to keep us going.

“We have to accept that we weren’t good enough against East Thurrock.

“It is back to the drawing board for us and we need to be better against Bishop’s Stortford.”