BEACONSFIELD SYCOB are going backwards in the race for the Southern League Central play-offs after three defeats in a row saw them slip down to seventh.

The Rams were third a few weeks ago but home losses to Dunstable and Chertsey ended their momentum before they finally slipped out of the play-offs with a 3-1 loss to promotion rivals Royston on Saturday.

Manager Gary Meakin said: “The wheels have fallen off. The momentum has completely gone but that’s football.

“We haven’t deserved to lose many of these games, we’re just not taking our chances. We’ve actually played better in some of our recent games than we did when we were winning.

“But we had three cleared off the line against Royston and all three of their goals could’ve been avoided. It’s just not going for us.”

The five teams directly below Beaconsfield also have a number of games in hand on Meakin’s men, who need to beat Aylesbury on Saturday to get their season back on track.

He said: “It’s an uphill task now and the hill is getting steeper every week. We’ve just got to win our games and not worry about the other results.”