Michael Gash saw a header hit the post as Cambridge United lost 1-0 to Tamworth

Boss George demands reslience

JEZ GEORGE says his Cambridge United side have questions to answer when they travel to AFC Telford on Saturday.

The U’s beat Andy Sinton’s men 4-1 in the FA Trophy last Saturday, but George said the memories of their New Year’s Day defeat at Braintree are still fresh in his mind.

On that occasion United had easily dispatched the Iron six days earlier, but slumped to a 3-2 defeat at Cressing Road.

“We all know what happened over Christmas, we don’t need reminding about that,” said George. “We’ve got a lot of questions to answer because of what happened at Braintree.

“We have to understand what allows us to be successful, which is to work hard, compete, then play our football. At Braintree we didn’t compete well enough, we certainly didn’t defend well enough, and we certainly didn’t get our football going, and that’s what we’ve got to look at.”

The manager believes his side, who haven’t won on the road since November 5, need to rediscover the defensive solidity which was a hallmark of their good early season form.

He said: “We have to set about the task in the right way and have that little bit of organisation and defensive discipline. That’s something that got us a lot of good results earlier in the season, and the stats don’t lie - we’ve gone from a team that lost three matches in 23 to one that’s lost three in six.

“A lot of those 23 were draws but even when you’re getting draws it shows you’re resilient and hard to beat, and that’s what we need to get back.”

United should have Michael Gash back in the side. The forward trained with the squad on Thursday after recovering from an ankle injury, and is likely to replace Liam Hughes. Jordan Patrick is still sidelined with a groin injury.

Meanwhile Híston boss David Livermore says United have not followed up their interest in winger Daniel Sparkes.

Livermore said the U’s had made what he described as a “ridiculous” offer for Sparkes at the end of last season which the Stutes rejected.

He said: “We’ve heard no more and I’m not aware of any contact between United and Híston.”