MARCH Town United boss Brett Whaley hit out at his players for “giving up” during Saturday’s 6-1 FA Vase drubbing at Mildenhall Town.

The Hares boss was delighted with his side’s performance for 70 minutes of their first qualifying round clash against high-flying Mildenhall.

However, he was furious with the way his outfit imploded after Adam Rothery had made it 2-1 with around 15 minutes to go.

Whaley said: “Except the finishing it was our best 70 minutes of our season. We’d made chances and had the bulk of the play.

“Our legs completely went towards the end but my major disappointment is that we kind of just gave up in the final 10 minutes. The lads might have been disappointed we were losing having played so well but there’s no excuse for stopping.

“No matter how tired you are you can still do things properly. We looked for other people to blame and I let the lads know I won’t stand for it again.

“They let me down and themselves down with how we ended the game because it looks as if we got an absolute pasting but we really didn’t. Maybe how it ended was a bit of a reality check.”

The defeat was March’s second in cup competitions last week against higher-league opposition and followed Tuesday’s 3-2 FA Cup replay defeat to Wisbech Town.

The Hares boss said: “There are positives to take from our performances because I’m pleased with how we’ve competed against two good sides.

“But now we need to give a performance for a full 90 minutes. I enjoyed our two games with Wisbech, the players enjoyed them and they were great for the club. It was all really good experience to take forward in our development.

“But for me personally we can now focus on the league again which I believe is much more important anyway.”

‘Keeper Lea Jordan returns from suspension for Saturday’s home Ridgeons First Division clash with Stowmarket Town. In-form striker Stu Anderson will once again be available.

Midfielders Kyle Nolan and Ben Hepworth are set to be pushing for starts after both gained valuable action on their return to the side as used substitutes against Mildenhall.

Whaley said: “The players owe it to themselves to give me a performance against Stowmarket because our squad is looking even stronger now we’ve got players coming back.

“People will lose their places quickly if they don’t perform as there are quality players knocking on the door. I’m sure I’ll get the response I’m looking for.”