MARK Bower has issued a plea to his Bradford (Park Avenue) side after they were thrashed 5-1 by Alfreton Town at the weekend.

His side collapsed in the opening ten minutes of the fixture, conceding three in that period and Bower says his side must rediscover some character ahead of this weekend’s tie with Telford.

Some maybe looking at this game as a six pointer given the position of the two sides, Avenue in 19th and the latter in 18th.

But first things first, Avenue’s boss admitted his side should be concentrating on their own performance rather than their oppositions.

He said: “We were thoroughly disappointed with the Alfreton performance. We had played well in a couple of the games before too so it as bitterly disappointing.

"We started so poorly and we just weren't aggressive enough, competitive enough and we didn't do the ugly side of the game right.

"They (Alfreton) punished us and thy deserved to. We were 3-0 down after ten minutes and the lads played alright after that, but it's easy to play when you're 3-0 down.

"It showed that if you drop your standards at this level you get punished."

"We've got to be realistic, you are up against it going against teams at this level. There are going to be off days for any side in this division, but we have to make sure that performances like that are few and far between.

"We can except losing and everyone around the club accepts that we are going to lose games, especially if we go about things the right way.

"But that wasn't the case on Saturday and we have to revert back to how we played against Blyth and find our character again.

"Training has given us the chance yo make sure we get our tempo right again, because it was certainly needed. It's the simple things that need to be done well, whether it's pressing down the opponents or tracking our runners.

"It's all part and parcel of football and the basics are fundamental to the success of any team."

Avenue do face a key fixture in their campaign so far, coming up against Telford on Saturday. A point separates both sides towards the foot of the table and discussing the fixture, Bower said: "The league table might suggest it's a big game or as some people call it- a six pointer.

"But that's not the case, it's just as big as the next one and any team is capable of beating one and other on any given day in this division.

"It's all about doing it right and to the best of your ability.

"I know if we can do that then we can match anyone in the league and give them a good game.

"Telford have recently changed their manager and are on a bit of a manager bounce, so they will have momentum behind them, but we must look to try and stop that.

"However, most importantly, we have to push forward in our own game and ensure we get back to basics and increase our intensity.

"If we do that, then I'm confident we can get something from what is an important game."