James Gray fears St Albans City could be dragged into a relegation battle after their home defeat to Wealdstone extended their winless run to six games.

The Saints have slipped down to 15th in the Conference South table, although they do have an 11-point cushion, having played two matches more, over second-bottom Farnborough.

The City joint manager believes his team need a couple of victories to secure their status in the division and is desperate for his side to pick up their first win since January.

Gray said: “We’re in a bad run of form but the recipe we’ve got at the minute is conceding sloppy goals and not taking our chances at the other end. We’re definitely in some trouble at the minute.

“I think we’re probably only two or three wins away from being secure. We need to do that as quickly as possible. We don’t want to get dragged into a relegation dogfight. I’ve been in that before and it’s not a nice place.”

The Saints boss added: “I think a little bit of belief has gone out of the boys. Maybe I’m a being a bit harsh but we seem like the nearly men. Every single week we are getting chance after chance and not putting them in the back of the net. We’re finding ourselves in a bad run of form and we need to get better quickly.”

St Albans were beaten 3-1 at home to the Stones on Saturday and Gray was critical of his side’s defending for the goals, including the second-minute opener for Jefferson Louis.

He said: “It was the worst start possible; just two minutes into the game giving away a cheap goal. All three goals we conceded were cheap and there’s no hiding from that.

“We weren’t good enough. There’s no two ways about it and I’m not going to make excuses for the boys. They weren’t good enough and we’ve paid the full price.”

Gray was frustrated by his side’s failure to take their chances at Clarence Park and feels his players are lacking a ruthlessness in front of goal.

He said: “We’re lacking a killer instinct at the minute and too many times we get the ball in good areas and we need someone to put the ball away for us and it’s not happening on a regular enough basis for us. We’re giving away sloppy goals at the other end and Jefferson was too hot for us to handle.

“The boys couldn’t get to grips with him and he was a massive difference between the two sides. It just shows the experience he’s got and a look around our squad and experience wise we’re lacking a bit at the moment. It’s something we’re going to have to try to remedy.

“It’s not a good run we’re in at all. We’re in a bad run at the minute and we can’t get a win. We can’t keep clean sheets and it’s tough to take. It’s frustrating when you see the amount of chances we created that we haven’t got a reward for. We’ve got to put it right and roll our sleeves up and need to work a bit harder than we did.”

The Saints face a difficult trip to tenth-placed Concord Rangers on Saturday as they bid to claim only their second league win in nine games.

Gray said: “We’ve got no fear but they don’t get beaten very often at their place. It’s a tough place to get a result. We need to be brighter and dig in a lot more.”

There is a team and supporters coach going to Concord on Saturday.

The coach will depart at 11.30am from the Clarence Park entrance to the ground.

Since the coach has a limited number of seats available, anyone going should book as early as possible. To reserve £10 seats, call Ian Rogers on 07714 145862.