AFC Fylde boss Andy Taylor seeks return to winning ways against Peterborough Sports after 'strong words and home truths'

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The 2-1 defeats at Leamington and Hereford over the past week followed a remarkably similar pattern, with the Coasters conceding the winning goal two minutes after defender Connor Barrett was shown a 73rd-minute red card in both games.

The upshot was Fylde's first back-to-back defeats of the season following a 13-game unbeaten run.

“How a week can change things,” former Blackpool defender Taylor told The Gazette. “We've addressed what happened with strong and honest words within the group and from myself.”

Taylor made no attempt to defend Barrett, whose five-game ban will kick in tomorrow, and the boss was also disappointed at seeing two promising performances on the road fall apart in the latter stages.

He added: “We are very disappointed with the red cards but have no arguments with the decisions.

“We are equally disappointed to have conceded the goals we did after the red cards. There was no need for us to concede, so the overriding disappointment is that we have lost two games by shooting ourselves in the foot. We need to stop doing that and if we do the results will follow.

“Aspects of both performances were really good and overall we deserved a lot more than we got.

“The first half-hour at Leamington was very good and for the first 65 minutes at Hereford the penalty was their only shot on target.”

We need to find a way of maintaining those levels of performance for the full game and converting those performances into points.

“That's the challenge and we need to address quickly the individual errors and lack of discipline. If we do that, the results will improve quickly.”

Despite slipping to 10th in National League North, Fylde are only three points behind second-placed Darlington with a game in hand.

But Taylor added: “Throughout my career as a player and coach, I've never paid much attention to league positions until February or March.

“The only time they really matter is on the final day and they are irrelevant at this stage of the season.

“What it's all about now is points on the board and that is what we want to address.”

Fylde were due to hold interviews for their managerial vacancy this week, according to the timetable laid out by club, though Taylor could offer no update.

“My full focus is on the job in hand and preparing the team as best I can,” he said.