Workington Reds boss Dave Hewson was philosophical about his side’s 4-0 defeat at Mickleover Sports.

He said: “I’m afraid it was a very bad day at the office. Not what we expected after the way we have been playing.

“Too many of our players were off their best and I’m afraid Mickleover adapted better to the conditions.

“It was disappointing that we conceded four goals in the second half, and the way we gave those goals away wasn’t good."

“Football games are settled by fine lines and we could have gone in at half-time with the lead," he added.

“We thought we should have had a penalty and then Scott Allison hit the inside of the post when an inch or so would have made the difference.

“But we are better than what we saw in this game. There are some talented players in the squad and we will re-group, work hard in training and come back strongly next week.”

A fine 4-0 win against Whitby last week had lifted Reds from seventh in the table to second.

This reversal sent them in the opposite direction down to sixth.

“There are a lot of twists and turns to go and quite a number of clubs in contention, so there’s plenty left to play for,” said Hewson.

On Saturday, Reds are back at Borough Park at home to Warrington Town.