Holleran hoping his ‘bad dream’ comes to an end in Workington

Sitting one off the bottom of the table, Brakes were denied the distraction of a FA Cup run after suffering a 2-1 replay defeat to Solihull Moors in midweek.

Brakes were denied what looked like a blatant penalty in the dying moments after Rob Elvins’ arm blocked Lee Chilton’s cross.

However, Holleran refused to hide behind key refereeing decisions going against his side, insisting the end result is the only thing that matters.

“We had great support on Saturday and again on Tuesday but it can’t carry on,” said Holleran. “We can’t keep losing games, no matter how hard the players are deemed to be trying.

“As a football manager I’m judged on results and they’re not good enough.

“If we show the same levels that we did on Saturday and Tuesday we’re a match for anyone in this league.

“Hopefully we’ll turn it around at Workington and I’ll look back on this period in three months as a bad dream.”

Trailing 2-0 on Tuesday night, Brakes were thrown a lifeline courtesy of Ricky Johnson’s 65th-minute strike.

The goal came just two minutes after fellow striker Will Green’s introduction but Holleran says playing two up front is not something he is comfortable with.

“It’s difficult playing an outright 4-4-2 in this league,” he said. “You’ve got to get a sysytem which allows you to get hold of the middle of the park.

“We didn’t do that against Solihull at home a couple of weeks ago and we spent the 90 minutes chasing the ball.

“The 4-2-3-1 is an attacking system. When we’re breaking, you’ve got Matty Dodd, Ricky Johnson, Lee Moore, Lee Chilton and Jake Heath bombing forward.

“It’s about trying to get people in the box and it has served us well before.”

With midweek substitutes Jimmy Husband and Jamie Sheldon unavailable for tomorrow’s trip to Workington, Holleran is again looking to bolster his squad, with the Brakes boss awaiting news on a number of seven-day approaches.