MIKE Fowler apologised to the Redditch United supporters following the club’s humiliating 7-0 defeat against Spalding United.
The Reds shipped seven goals at home against league leaders Spalding at the Valley Stadium to drop out of the Southern League Premier Central play-off places.
And Fowler compared his side’s defending to Sunday League football as a number of mistakes at the back contributed to the final scoreline.
Fowler said: “It was a really difficult afternoon and not one I’ve ever had before.
“Firstly, it’s an apology to the fans. I wish I could have all the players in this interview with me so they can be accountable to that.
“But the buck stops with me as the manager. We’ve let the fans down. It’s nowhere near acceptable. Not good enough.
“Without pinning it on individuals, we conceded some really, really bad goals defensively. It’s laughable.
“It’s been coming. We’ve not defended great all season. This is not a shock to me because I’ve seen some of this kamikaze defending.
“It shouldn’t be at this level. Sunday League division seven would be better defending. It’s not something I accept at all.
“It’s a one-off result. We just need to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Our season isn’t defined by this game.”
A brace from Jack Roberts and further goals from Lewis White, Joshua McCammon, Bartosz Cybulski, Abduramane Sani and Dion Sembie-Ferris condemned the Reds to a heavy defeat.
And Fowler insists his players understand the severity of the defeat but hopes his side would respond during the match.
Fowler added: “A team is a reflection of the manager and what I saw was not a reflection of me and my character.
“I asked them at the end: ‘when things get tough, what do you see in me?’
“The feedback isn’t always great to hear but they said passion and I work harder.
“But when things got tough we didn’t have that. That’s not a technical issue. That’s not something we can do on the training ground.
“I don’t need to tell them [the players] what’s happened. They know the severity of it. The disappointing thing is they didn’t realise the severity of it in game.”
Redditch host Banbury United on Saturday, December 6 with kick-off at 3pm at the Valley Stadium.
