The New Saints boss Scott Ruscoe has admitted Saturday's defeat to Bangor City had an 'after the parade' feel to it and was left disappointed by the loss.

TNS lost by a solitary goal with Ruscoe fielding a patched-up side of senior and rookie professionals, though he still felt his side did more than enough to win the game.

"It was a bit disappointing as we dominated the game and had lots of possession," he said. "I thought it was a decent performance despite having a patched up side because we lost players through illness and injury. But it was good to get younger players some minutes.

"However, before the game, the minimum I’d have been happy with is a draw, without knowing how Bangor would play.

"I thought they were negative in their play and looked a bit nervous going for that second place. But overall, I was really pleased with the performance from my players though.

"There’s always a sense of ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show’ with games like this after we won the league last week. Some would say something about an off-day but I don’t think so. We created half a dozen chances or so but we didn’t take any of them and their keeper got man-of-the-match."

Ruscoe is planning some time for his players with a free weekend, and admitted he will eventually take time himself.

He added: "We’ll be back working hard on our fitness, and from the players available, we’ll be looking at two or three that we have an eye on for next season. We might try to get a behind closed doors friendly and anyone who needs to put their feet up and rest will do so.

"I start my Pro-Licence on Monday so there won’t be too much time for rest, and I’ll still be out watching games and players for next season.

"There’s not much time at the moment but I will be looking to get a few weeks away in May."