Stevenage boss Teddy Sheringham has urged his players to prove a point to themselves and their fans – ahead of a visit to the Lamex Stadium by Carlisle United.

His comments follow a dip in form that has seen his side lose the last three league games.

Defeat to Barnet was followed by a loss to Cambridge last Saturday, the winner coming with almost the last kick of the game.

And the third of those defeats, at home to Mansfield on Tuesday, brought a smattering of boos from the Stevenage crowd.

And Sheringham admitted it hadn’t been a good week.

He said: “We were very disappointed to lose in the 96th minute but it happens. We battled well in the game, there was a good togetherness, but it hurts when you lose in the last minute.

“We did alright at Barnet, leading 1-0 and 2-1 at stages before losing 3-2. That hurt. And then losing to a last minute goal at Cambridge, I think those two things affected us for Tuesday’s game.

“We went away from what we’ve been good at and we’ve been working since then to try and get back to it.”

But he also feels that they are dealing with fine margins. And in other circumstances, he could have been talking about one defeat in seven.

He added: “We had very good chances. We hit the bar against Cambridge in the first few minutes, then had a diving header tipped over the bar in the first couple of minutes at home the other night.

“If you take these chances, who knows where that takes your team. Everyone relaxes, they calm down on the pitch and you play a lot better.

“But that’s all ifs and bits. You’ve got to take your chances, if you don’t you end up where we’re at.

“I felt the confidence drained away from us a little bit on Tuesday night but that’s up to me and my staff to instil that again and make sure we’re ready for Saturday’s performance.”

And he stressed: “You’re always proving a point. Even if we had won last weekend we’ve got to prove we can do it again.

“We need to prove we can play this game and that’s what we’ll be trying to do.”