Boss Challi out to plug the leaks: AFC Fylde v Curzon preview

The second-placed Coasters are Vanarama National North’s top scorers with 25 from eight games, but only one team in the top half (Stockport) have conceded more than Fylde’s 12.

Challinor said: “We are getting away with it at the moment because we are still picking up points despite conceding too many goals.

“If we are winning 4-2 or 5-2 I am happy, but when it is starting to cost us points it’s a problem. Scoring a lot of goals is perhaps papering over the cracks defensively.

“We need the lads to take on board what we want them to do. We don’t want them to be robots and they need a degree of freedom but we want them to do as we say.

“If they do and it doesn’t work, then it’s my fault. But if they are doing things we are specifically asking them not to do it starts to become an issue.

“We can see areas other teams are going to try to exploit. Saturday was a day for doing the basics right (a rain-soaked 2-2 draw with Gloucester which ended 2-2). As a defender, it was heading it, clearing it and covering well.

“They scored from a free-kick, where their lad has a free header in our box. It hits the post and they put the ball in an open goal. Five minutes later, Danny Rowe hits a free-kick that strikes the inside of the post and funnily enough they clear it.

“Rowey can score, Steve Williams is popping up with a few, and we’ve got goals in James Hardy and Sam Finley and we’ve got Brendon Daniels to come back, so we have more than enough goals in the team.

“Now we need to make sure we aren’t conceding and are winning games 1-0 at times.”

Fylde have drawn three of their four games at Mill Farm and Challinor added: “Of course it’s a massive positive that we are still unbeaten. The other couple we drew (Brackley and Salford) can been viewed as decent points but Saturday’s game feels like two dropped. When we are scoring two goals we have to win 2-0, not draw 2-2.

“If we can back up that result with a win, then four points from two games doesn’t seem too bad.”