LITTLE Oakley first-team coach Gary Kioussis wants his players to show their mental steel in the closing weeks of the season.

The Acorns have suffered a dip in form, losing five of their last six Thurlow Nunn League matches.

They have only scored once in that time and, alarmingly, have shipped 20 goals - a statistic made worse by Tuesday’s 4-0 defeat at AFC Sudbury Reserves.

Kioussis says the team have to tighten up defensively and wants the players to be strong - both mentally and physically.

“We need to be a little cuter when it comes to our final third at the moment,” he said.

“We seem to be giving away silly goals and it’s really frustrating.

“I remember saying at the start of the season that we needed to learn certain things about defending and now, a few games from the end, I’m still saying the same things.

“The players know it.

“We’ve got our fitness levels up and pass the ball around nicely but we still need to be a bit smarter in terms of defending our goal.

“Winning a game of football isn’t always about winning physically, it’s about winning mentally too.

“We need to get a bit tougher mentally because we feel our dressing room is good enough.

“The players just need to believe in themselves because any sports psychologist will tell you that winners think about winning even when they’re losing.

“We’ve just got to get that mentality right because some of our players don’t believe in themselves as much as we believe in them.”

Oakley have four games left, starting with tomorrow’s first division date with March Town United at the Memorial Ground.

They then head to Team Bury on Wednesday before trips to Framlingham Town and Norwich United Reserves.

“If we can turn things round with our defending, the results will come,” added Kioussis.

“It might come too late to make an impact this season, but we still want to finish the season strongly and make a bit of a statement.

“It’s a tough league and we’re not downhearted – we just know what we need to do.”