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Irons' boss outraged after exit

Braintree Town's boss Lee Patterson has expressed unhappiness with his side 4-0 defeat at the hands of Kingstonian in the FA Cup.

Patterson felt that some of his star players did not pull their weight and has made it clear to his squad what is expected of them in the weeks to come.

"Key players under performed and the opposition outworked us on the day so there's no excuses but the result will be in the pit of my stomach for a long time," Patterson told The Chronicle.

"I never criticise my players in public but there were a fair few that were told in no uncertain terms of what is expected in the future.

"All the previous week we had spoken to the team about the dangers of being complacent but it didn't seem to be listened to as we under performed which was massively disappointing to everyone at the club.

"We missed out on having a decent cup run, bringing money into and raising the profile of the club but there can be no excuses."

The Irons went down to 10 men after Wayne O'Sullivan was sent off in the 25th minute and goalkeeper Craig Holloway had to be subbed in the second half with a dead leg.

"Playing with 10 men for so long made it extra hard work and had Sean Marks' first half shot gone in and not been cleared off the line and likewise his second half shot which hit the woodwork it might have been a different story," said Patterson.

"Once they scored it was always going to be an uphill struggle one man short and pushing men forward always leaves you exposed at the back and that's what happened late on when they score three goals.

"I think the final scoreline flattered them but it was our fault and we've blown our chance of making a few quid and having a decent cup run."

Patterson is demanding his players turn things around when they travel to face current Blue Square South table-toppers Hayes & Yeading United on Saturday.

"That's going to another difficult game but we'll have two hard training sessions this week and sort a few things out," Patterson continued.

"We have to start getting results and pick up points and we have a far better squad than last year to do so with better players coming in for those that have left."