Manager Ron Bertie admitted that times are tough at Andover Town right now after several heavy Velocity Wessex Division One defeats in recent weeks, but he believes performances will improve.

Town’s miserable season continued on Saturday, September 23 as they were thumped 8-1 at home to East Cowes Victoria.

The result follows heavy defeats in their last three outings, with Bertie’s side falling to Cove (5-3), Verwood Town (5-2), and Alresford (3-0) throughout September.

The East Cowes defeat marks the second time in this campaign that Andover have conceded eight in a match after being thrashed by Millbrook in their league opener.

And Andover’s poor showing this term has resulted in the club dropping into the league’s relegation places, without a win since August.

Bertie, however, believes there are signs his side are moving in the right direction.

“It’s tough at the moment. We’re not where we should be. We lost several good players and we need to improve the squad,” said the Andover boss.

“The result against East Cowes was an anomaly. It wasn’t the normal performance. Our first-choice goalkeeper got injured five minutes before kick-off so we had to put a 16-year-old in goal. So it wasn’t a true reflection of the game.

“But the development is coming. The players are learning and getting better.”

Despite the team’s difficult start on the pitch, Bertie revealed that having a younger squad has actually proved beneficial for the squad’s morale during this challenging time.

“Maybe it’s because of the academy environment but, with our younger players, the disappointment of losing doesn’t last very long,” Bertie said.

“The more mature players might feel the hurt of losing for longer but the young players seem to very quickly move on to the next game which has been a good thing I think.

“It’s easier to be positive as a manager because you can focus on their development and improvement rather than dwell on the result.”

And the Town boss will be hoping that optimism will soon bring about positive results in the coming weeks, starting with the visit of Downton to Portway Stadium on Saturday.

Bertie added: “The mood in the camp is brilliant.

“It’s going to be a tough game this weekend against a team who are up there in the table.

“But we’ve got to focus on us, on how we are going to perform, how we are going to motivate ourselves, and how we are going to get a result.”