AFC Fylde star Josh Langley has urged supporters to keep the faith and help the team through a difficult spell.
The Coasters have lost back-to-back games in the National League North for the first time this season, but defender Langley insists the situation isn’t nearly as bad as some are making out.
Monday’s defeat against Curzon Ashton saw Dave Challinor’s injury-hit side drop to fifth in the table, however there is currently just five points between the top six teams in the league.
“Results and performances haven’t been up to scratch recently and we know we can do a lot better,” admitted Langley.
“That said we are just five points off the top of the league with three games in hand so when you look at it like that we aren’t doing too badly at all. We know we can still improve though.
“There’s no denying the number of injuries we have suffered has played a big part. I don’t think we had one serious injury throughout the whole of last season, so that has been a major factor.
“We had a bad spell last January where we didn’t win many games at all so hopefully we have got this season’s bad run out of the way now.
“We are still very close to the top of the league so I think people are probably making our situation out to be worse than it actually is. We just need to keep going and get the squad fit again.
“Our ambitions are exactly the same as they were from the first kick – we want to win the league. Coming so close to promotion last year has really spurred us on. We know from experience that the play-offs are a gamble so our aim is to finish in top spot.
“I personally haven’t been surprised with how difficult it has been this season. There are some very good teams in our division and we knew that right from the very start. This league is much stronger than it was last season in my opinion with some good teams coming down from the Conference and likewise coming up from the Evo-Stik.
“Recent results have been tough to take, but we still believe in ourselves – the manager always instils that into us because we know we are a very good team. Monday didn’t quite go to plan against Curzon Ashton, but not every game will go according to plan.
“We know we can play a lot better than we did and this Saturday presents us with a great chance to put that right against Chorley.”
The former Wigan Athletic man spent the first three-and-a-half months out of the team with a broken metatarsal and is now delighted to be back in the manager’s plans.
“It’s been great to be back in the team. I was out injured for over three months so it’s a relief to be playing again.
“With having so long out it was always going to take me a while to get back to where I want to be in terms of fitness.
“That is getting better with each game I play and now I am looking forward to a good second half to the season.
“I’ve had the odd ache and pain and tight muscle after games, but no reaction to the original injury touch wood and hopefully it stays that way.
“When I first came back into the team I was playing with Brad (Roscoe) and now it’s Dom (Collins). Last year, playing with a settled partner in Tom (Hannigan) almost all season, helped me a lot. It’s good to get that understanding, but the other two are also very good players so I can have no complaints.”