TUESDAY night’s 4-1 defeat at Droylsden was a reality check for Worcester City.

We are going in the right direction — I am still convinced of that — but we have to be a little more resilient and players have got to start taking on board what the management team are saying.

I knew what Droylsden were capable of — they clicked in the first 20 minutes and were probably as good a side as we have played this season.

But we contributed massively to our own downfall.

We had possession in reasonably good areas for their first two goals and gave the ball away.

The game was effectively over after 26 minutes when we were 3-0 down and had a big mountain to climb.

They were miles better than us in the first-half and gave us a footballing lesson.

I know Droylsden are inconsistent but they are also a fluent side with a lot of firepower and score goals.

However, that’s the third time we have conceded four goals in an away game this season — following losses at Altrincham and Guiseley — and we can’t keep doing that because it’s only November.

We haven’t all of a sudden become a bad side. We are in a tough run of games but have to be more resilient and difficult to beat on our travels.

In the last two or three years, our home form has been pretty patchy but we’ve done well away from St George’s Lane.

At the moment, that’s the reverse — we are doing relatively well at home but some of the away performances, certainly at Guiseley, Altrincham and now Droylsden, are letting us down.

You can accept people making mistakes, that’s part and parcel of the game.

But you must ask questions when you drive all over the country to scout teams, tell players what sides will do and, within three minutes, they have not heeded the warning.

The sides winning matches are the ones with the most players who are taking on board instructions.

We set up exactly the same way against Stalybridge Celtic, Guiseley and Droylsden.

We played really well at Stalybridge last month, frustrated them for long periods and looked a solid side who were tough to break down.

In the first-half at home to Guiseley on Saturday, we absolutely destroyed them.

But, after 26 minutes on Tuesday, we were 3-0 down and had done everything wrong.

There is no obvious reason why the performances should be vastly different because the preparation was the same.

We missed top-scorer Mike Symons against Droylsden but there were some fundamental errors made, certainly for the first two goals.

When people in football say you’ll never beat the game, the contrast between last Saturday and Tuesday is the reason why.

Sir Alex Ferguson has been at one club for 25 years and is an inspiration to a lot of managers but he’ll never beat it and that’s the beauty of football.