Spalding United manager Jimmy Dean says Tulips ‘unlikely to reach play-offs’ after 2-0 defeat against Bishop’s Stortford

Manager Jimmy Dean believes Spalding’s play-off prospects needs forgetting about for the rest of this season.

The Tulips have suffered successive Southern League Premier Division Central defeats, losing 2-0 at Bishop's Stortford on Tuesday after they went down 2-1 at Leiston last weekend, despite a goal from defender Sam Cartwright.

It means Spalding are now seven points adrift of fifth-placed Leiston, having played a game more.

On their hopes of a top-five finish, Dean said: “I think it needs forgetting about, to be honest. It’s led to us becoming a bit erratic with our finishing.

“I think it’s very unlikely now that we will make the play-offs and we just need to think about the controllables.

“I will be glad when we are back at home on Saturday because we have lost our last three away games in a row. That’s unacceptable, especially after we had gone so long unbeaten before then.”

But for Dean, who arrived at Spalding in late August, the focus had always been on having a full season in charge of the club for the first time next term.

“I didn’t expect an opportunity to make the play-offs this year,” he said.

“It was only our outstanding form that gave us any real chance.

“But I was always looking towards a full summer and then having a full season with the club.

“The players still have a lot to play for if they want to be part of it this season so there won’t be any downing tools. I won’t allow that.

“I will be looking for performances from players that want to be part of things next season, which I think a lot of them will be.”

Dean also praised the support he has had from chairman Andrew Killingsworth since he came in.

He said: “The chairman has supported properly and he will continue to do that, I’m sure. He has always been on the end of the phone, there’s certainly no complaints there from me.

“But there’s some things that are just beyond your control with player unavailability and when people go away.”

While the Tulips were much-improved against Bishop’s Stortford than they had been against Leiston, a lack of a killer instinct let them down.

Dean reflected: “We had good control of the game and created some good chances, and we just didn’t put it in the net. That’s the general consensus.

“That’s not a good thing - I’m not saying we’re pleased, just because we created a lot of chances - but we just need to be better in both boxes. I know that’s a cliché, but I don’t say it every game. We were poor on Saturday and I said we were poor.

“We had seven or eight chances on Tuesday, but we just didn’t take them.”

Next up for Spalding is a home game against Redditch, who they drew 1-1 with in November.

Redditch are four places and five points below Spalding in the table.

Dean recalled: “It was one of those games where I don’t think there were masses of chances, but we were the better side. They just got a late equaliser.

“I like their manager, Matt Clarke - he’s a good manager - and makes them hard to beat.

“I will come up with a game-plan but, also, I keep talking about the controllables and that’s what we need to focus on.

“I think our home form has been really good. We got a good win against Halesowen in our last home game.

“It’s a good challenge for us to try and get another home win and that’s what we will try to do.”