STUNNED AFC Totton boss Steve Hollick has advised his players to take a long, hard look at themselves after yesterday's shock 6-0 collapse at Evesham United.

Just when the Stags appeared to have got their season on track with back-to-back victories over Wantage and Larkhall, they turned in what Hollick could only describe as an “unacceptable” performance against a side who had started the day just two points above them in the Southern One South & West.

Totton trailed 1-0 at half-time when it could easily have been more, but they failed to heed the warning and were soundly beaten after the break.

“They missed a couple of first-half chances, so we had a warning, and once the second goal went in they cut us open so easily,” said Hollick.

“It pains me to say it, but if it hadn’t been for (goalkeeper) Steve Mowthrope, it could have been double figures.

“After the week we’d had, I didn’t expect this at all. It’s Jekyll & Hyde.

“You think you’ve turned the corner, but then it’s one step forward and two back with us.

“The lads are disappointed and rightly so. Too many of them had off-days and they need to have a good look at themselves.

“Evesham are a decent Southern League side with big centre-halves and their full-backs are quite good, but that’s nothing we don’t deal with week in, week out.

"They’re not six goals better than us, but our early-season jitters came back to bite us. We’ve got a tough run coming up and, if we play like that again, we’re going to come unstuck.”

Evesham’s leading marksman Adam Mann opened the scoring on six minutes before the floodgates opened after the break. Lance Smith helped himself to a hat-trick and there was one apiece for Matt Sysum and debutant Lewis Powell.

Totton looked threatening on the counter-attack on occasion, but the Robins’ former Salisbury goalkeeper Kevin Sawyer was never really troubled by the Stags frontline on a wintery Worcestershire afternoon.

Hollick gave a debut to new defensive signing Patrick Wilson from Wimborne Town and he was yellow-carded five minutes before the break after colliding with Mann.

With Jack Simpson injured and Jake Burgess suspended, recent loan addition Mitchell Hunt from Eastleigh was also handed a start.