Alan Devonshire tells Braintree Town to 'grow up'
Last updated on .From the section National League
Braintree manager Alan Devonshire has told his team to "grow up" in the aftermath of their 5-4 defeat at Kidderminster.
The Iron have failed to win in five matches this month and have conceded 17 goals in the process.
Devonshire told BBC Essex: "We're playing in a men's league now and they've got to grow up quickly.
"Some of them don't like criticism. They've got to take that on the chin I'm afraid."
The result comes just three days after the Iron threw away a two-goal lead against bottom side Bath City, a result that led to Devonshire calling on his team to cut out mistakes.
He added: "Nobody is more disappointed than me, I'm hard on myself and they've got to be a bit harder on themselves as well."
Braintree won eight of their first 12 games but have now slipped to 11th in the table, with just one point from the last five matches.
The former West Ham midfielder admits he now has a dilemma over his approach to their next match at home to Darlington on Saturday.
"Do I have to go more defensive to keep the clean sheets and sacrifice the attacking way we play?
"We know we will score goals, but the last four of five games, we've let in too many soft goals," he concluded.
