Kevin Wilkin demands more from Telford

The Bucks were held 1-1 by lower-league Cleethorpes Town; however, they held their nerve better in a penalty shootout to move past the Lincolnshire side 5-4 in a sudden-death conclusion.

Wilkin was pleased with the outcome but far from satisfied with how his side achieved it.

“Obviously, going to penalties, we’ve made really hard work of it today,” he said. “(I’m) delighted to be in the hat for the next round, and commiserations to Cleethorpes, who have come here and had a right go and asked questions of us, there’s no doubt about that.

“I do think on a lot of occasions we bring about our own demise and our own issues, and the level of performance, as I said to the lads, from certain individuals, again, is not at the level that we need it at and that it is my responsibility.”

The Bucks had to dig deep after starting well but fading. Dior Angus got them moving with his fourth goal of the season, but substitute Adam Haw levelled after half-time from a free-kick.

From that point onwards, the Bucks had to scrap. Both they and Cleethorpes lacked the composure to finish the other off, with missed chances at both ends, something Wilkin acknowledged: “I’m delighted that we’ve found a way to get through people had the courage to step up and get us through on a penalty kick situation, but I would expect the players to be able to come through that game at home in a more comfortable fashion.

“We’re comfortable in the first half, and score a good goal, but then maybe we got too comfortable, and players get more time and space and aren’t as squeezed to make decisions and end up getting a bit lackadaisical in certain moments and in their decisions.

“We allowed them back in with the equaliser, and we’re on the back foot, but we have some good characters in the group that fortunately keep us together at the right time and who defended the goal like their lives depended on it.”

Wilkin expressed concerns that his team are too ready to look to certain key figures to address on-field issues: “We are missing something, and I need to try to address that. Players need to understand and make better decisions, and when you’ve been comfortable in the game and get rocked back by the equaliser, everyone knows the atmosphere that happens within the stadium and the squeeze that it puts on you. We learned how to manage that and deal with that last season; we’re not doing it to that level at the moment.

“Staying up to your work and being really incisive with every moment and chance and opportunity you get is really important, and players understanding and learning from those moments. Nobody does it deliberately, but you find the game moving away from you or being more open than it should be because you’re not doing the right things, and you’re turning simple passes over.

“There are some simple moments there where we’ve given the ball away and allowed Cleethorpes to attack us and get into good areas, and I’ve got to tighten it up and make sure that we are working to a really high standard.”