Don’t stop believing

Just two wins from their opening nine fixtures see Brakes sitting 13th in the table, having tumbled out of the FA Cup at the hands of Brackley in midweek.

However, despite their stuttering start, Holleran says it is just a matter of time before the quality of his side shines through.

“As a manager, it’s probably the worst start I’ve had. But I firmly believe this is as good a squad as I’ve ever had and that we’re not far away from going on a good run.

“That’s how I feel, how the players feel and how most people at the football club feel.”

A 35th-minute penalty from Steve Basham and a second-half goal from Chris Wilmott condemned Brakes to a 2-0 replay defeat at St James Park on Tuesday night.

It was the fifth successive season Brakes have bowed out at the first qualifying round stage, denying them the chance to host Northern Premier League side Buxton in the next round.

“It’s disappointing to go out of the cup at this stage,” said Holleran.

“But it was always going to be difficult. Brackley are a side full of quality players, who haven’t found their feet yet.

“There’s a gulf in resources and sometimes you can make it up and sometimes you can’t.

“At times on Tuesday night they looked like a Football League side, but the first half and the last 20 minutes belonged to us.

“For long periods we created more chances than them and we haven’t taken them. And from our point of view they were poor goals to concede.”

Leamington travel to struggling Tiverton Town tomorrow (3pm) looking to build on a three-match unbeaten run in the league.

However, with little to choose between many of the teams in the divison, Holleran is aware his side need to eradicate the defensive errors which were a feature of both games against Brackley.

“We’ve got to be more clinical. We’ve got to start taking our chances and cutting out the silly mistakes at the back,” he said.

“I honestly believe when we do that we can be a side who can challenge in this division.

“We’ve just got to tidy our act up a bit, keep believing and we’ll be fine.”