THE form that carried Halstead Town into the heart of the Thurlow Nunn League division one south title race will need to be rediscovered very quickly if they want to keep their promotion dreams alive this year.

That is the view of manager Mark McLean after seeing his side make a stuttering return to action against promotion rivals Hackney Wick last weekend.

Halstead came into the game on the back of a three-week break in division one south action, but it wasn't a happy return as they were punished for a lacklustre display in a 2-0 defeat and know they must respond positively when they host Lopes Tavares at the Milbank Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).

The loss against Hackney Wick saw the Humbugs drop a place to third in the table.

McLean said he was shocked by his players' lethargy, but he has been heartened by the response he has seen from them this week and feels they need to find the form that saw them five games in a row before their break.

He said: "I want them to take it back to where they were before the break; to do what put us in such a good position in the first place.

"Saturday was everything that we are not.

"We were leggy and we looked like we didn't know each other, which was shocking from my perspective.

"But that element of rustiness has to have gone now.

"We have to get straight back on it.

"The result from last weekend has allowed Hackney Wick to stay in the race, but we have to play them again and I know we are still in control of our own destiny.

"I just want the players to get back to where they were before that break and I feel we can push on now.

"The reaction that I've already seen has been good after the game.

"The players know what happens if levels drop.

"The proof was in the pudding last weekend and if you drop off then you will get punished."

Skipper Jake Brown will be missing for the game against Lopes Tavares as he will serve the second of a three-match suspension

McLean said it was a shame that his captain had received a three-match ban rather than just one after his sending off against Little Oakley, but he is looking for the remaining members of his squad to step up after the loss to Hackney Wick.

The Humbugs boss had said during their break in action that he was less fearful of it than he had been during a two-week hiatus over Christmas, but admitted that his assurance had been a bit misplaced.

“Unfortunately the effect was a lot greater than I feared it would be,” he added.

“We were so rusty it was unbelievable.

“I’d said a couple of weeks ago that I was less fearful of this break than the one we had over Christmas but with hindsight that was totally wrong.

“Isn’t hindsight a great thing.

“Everyone has some sort of interruption around Christmas and that will have an effect, but this latest break that we had still had other teams playing while we weren’t so they were able to keep momentum while ours stalled.

“We just looked so rusty.

“What I wanted was a fast start to make it hard for Hackney Wick, but we didn’t get that and we were very laboured in everything we did.

“We didn’t press in the right areas and allowed them to settle, which was the last thing I wanted to see.

“We have played better sides but they are extremely streetwise and will take advantage if you let them. I wanted them to be uncomfortable but we allowed them to settle.

"Having said that, though, at 20 minutes, while we were not doing what we should have been, they didn't look as though they were threatening us and their front man looked detached, but we gifted them two goals.

"They got the penalty and then 90 seconds later a ball was sent back to Jack Cherry that should not have been as he wasn't able to get himself set and they got the second goal.

"That gave them something to defend and they are masters of killing a game in that situation, but the disappointing thing is that we had given them the opportunity to do that.

"We huffed and puffed but we were well off where we needed to be."