Alton manager Kevin Adair admitted his side need to improve after losing 6-2 against Cove in a pre-season friendly.

The Brewers were 3-0 down after 23 minutes, before Liam Marshall pulled a goal back.

Alton then conceded three second-half goals before Luke Perkins scored late on.

“We are in a bit of a mess if I'm being completely honest,” said Adair.

“I thought the group we had put together was technically better than we've ever had at this stage of the season, but the cohesion and the willingness to work on that is not quite there, so there's something missing.

“I think I know what it is but I can't fix it from my side, it's got to be done from their side.

“We've got to be willing to try to put it right, willing to accept responsibility and move on.

“I've been in this game long enough to have some serious low points and some really good high points, and what we can't do is get too carried away at this stage of the season and get too low because it's not in the season yet.

“We've got some things we've got to change, things that are fundamentals, and then have a reassessment of where we're at. If the group's not good enough then we'll have to have another reshuffle.

“At the minute we're not doing the basics well, and when you don't do the basics well and teams are hungry and willing to hunt you down they'll put pressure on you.

“We're in a bit of a rut. It's difficult to be too negative about it but we've got to be honest and we've got to say it's nowhere near good enough.

“It's got to get better, it's got to be more disciplined and there’s got to be more work-rate from individuals.”