Stafford assistant manager Darren Read admits Rangers were lucky not to be on the end of a more significant drubbing at Hinckley last night.

The Marston Road men went down 4-0, after goals from Adam Webster, Andy Hall and a brace from Callum Lloyd.

In truth, they were chasing shadows all evening – a real comedown after the vital 2-0 win at home to Hyde.

Read admits the players had a “bit of a laugh” at Weymouth’s expense after they were on the end of a 9-0 demolition at home to Rushden on Saturday, while Rangers were picking up three points.

Now the boot is on the other foot, the Stafford No 2 was happy they only shipped four goals after a below par display.

But now that is over – Read and manager Chris Brindley’s new focus is to pick the players up for another massive game, a trip to Andy Mutch’s relegation rivals Burscough on Saturday.

The assistant said: “We are lucky we didn’t end up on a Weymouth type scoreline by the end of it. We all had a bit of a snigger at that result at the weekend, but we were in the same position last night. It was just a really poor performance.

“To be fair on the boys, the effort and application was there but no real end product. We looked tired – Hinckley hadn’t played in a week and we played on Saturday. It was just a bad day at the office, but it’s done now.

“At the end of the day, we have lost the match and now we must pick ourselves up – that game at Burscough on Saturday is massive for us.”