FC Oswestry Town manager Dan Stevens insists his players must improve defensively if they are to establish themselves in the North West Counties Football League.

Stevens was reflecting on his side’s absorbing 6-6 draw with Silsden at The Venue on Saturday – a game in which the hosts had led 4-1 after an hour.

Though unbeaten in three games, Town have now conceded 18 goals in their last eight league fixtures.

Stevens said: “From a defensive point of view, Saturday’s performance was just not acceptable.

“My teams have always been solid defensively, but recently there have been a catalogue of individual mistakes from my players which have resulted in us conceding some really poor goals.

“Having been 4-1 up we should have managed the game better, but we capitulated.

“The players are experienced enough to know we will be punished by higher-calibre teams if we carry on defending as we have recently.”

Town have made a reasonable start to their nascent NWCFL campaign after leaving the Mercian Football League last season.

With 10 points from their opening eight games, Town currently lie 14th in the table and face a tough trip to fourth-placed Litherland REMYCA tomorrow night.

Stevens has called on his squad to take collective responsibility for their defensive duties and to eradicate the lapses which have cost them valuable points.

He added: “The lads know my thoughts on this and it’s time they took responsibility for their own performances.

“We’ll be working hard to rectify this in training and we’ll need to become more resolute to compete in this league.

“Some of our attacking play was superb on Saturday, where for the first 45 minutes we were exceptional.

“If we can cut out the mistakes in defence and retain our attacking approach, we can definitely get more points on the board.”