IT was a big disappointment to everyone when we went out of the FA Umbro Trophy to Hendon on Monday night.

We did well to gain a replay down there. I wouldn't say we deserved to win the game but we had more than one opportunity to seal a victory.

But they were obviously a strong side and that was proved the other night.

However, in the week between the first game and the replay we have picked up injuries and ended up with eight players unavailable.

I was quite impressed with Hampton when they beat us in the FA Cup, and I have to say I was very impressed with Hendon. I think they would be up in the top three in our league based on their performance.

They were good value for their victory, and 3-2 probably made it closer than the balance of play suggested, despite two goals for us from Paul Carty.

The match came on the back of a good win for us against Ilkeston Town on Saturday, where I thought style-wise we played as good and as lively as we have played for a few weeks.

To then have the side decimated for the next game two days later was disappointing, but you have to get on with it and do what you can with the resources we have got.

It doesn't do any good being critical of the officials, but referees' decisions can change the course of games and the decision for their first goal, when I thought Mark Tucker had been fouled, did just that. That wasn't the reason we lost the game but it altered the game at that particular time.

We had some young players out there and due to injuries we have been forced to use them as front-line players on too regular a basis.

Ideally we would like to be resting some of the younger players who have been doing a valiant job for us. That hasn't been possible and they have had to stay in the front line for too long.

We have only lost three games in the last 16 but I know it still isn't right. We know what has got to be done, and it isn't possible to do it at this period of time.

We have changed it as best we can within what we are able to do, but the situation is such that we are in a position of taking on loan players, and if I could bring in another one I would.

We had the green light to bring Allan Davies in from Burton Albion last week, and his performance against Ilkeston didn't surprise me -- I have seen many of those sort of performances from him.

It was an enthusiastic, quality performance and we would like to think we can get a few more from him during the rest of his month with us.

We need to keep on improving the quality of players. If you stand still long enough, eventually you go backwards, and I am well aware of that.

We have done fairly well this year -- our league position tells us that -- but it is only part of the bigger picture of what we can do at the football club. We have to go on making the best of what we have got.

It is hard enough winning games with a full side out, and you only need to look at the game on Sunday when Manchester United played Liverpool.

Even United couldn't get round their injury problems - that was as poor a performance as I have seen from them for a long while. They missed those players, and we are no different.

It is an interesting period coming up for us, with a lot of games between now and the end of January. We have to dust ourselves off from the disappointment of the other night and get our teeth into it, starting with King's Lynn on Saturday.

I would like to finish by wishing everyone a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.