A SHOCK defeat to Spartans in the Powergen Cup had Maidenhead coach Simon Edwards spitting with rage this week.
He said: “I'm furious. The club hadn’t targeted the cup and I rested some players, but whatever side we put out, whether its squad players or not, they have to want it.
“I can't abide any side going on the field not wanting to win or give it their all.
“It's not acceptable. And because of that they've been read the riot act.
“We have lost a game we could and should have won and I'm very disappointed.”
The result came at the end of a bad week for the club, which saw several key players drop out through serious injury or illness.
Fly-half Anton Da Silva snapped his Achilles tendon on Thursday night, bringing a sad end to his stop-and-start career with Maids.
To add to the selectors woes, centre Jonny Hammond was then struck down with the flu, while winger Simon Cripps was delayed coming back from New York and only arrived at Braywick in time for the second half.
Struggling to find positives to take away from the game, Edwards added: “Every team has a bad day. Let's make sure this was our one bad day of the season.”
Having put the players straight about what the club expects of them, Edwards has now set his sights on tomorrow’s (Saturday’s) clash at High Wycombe, kick-off 2.30pm.
He said: “It’s a massive game for us. We’ve targeted it as much as we targeted the Abbey game.
“High Wycombe is my old club. I had four seasons there and I know they won't be worrying about where we are in the league.
“They are the kind of team who can beat anyone on their day, so we're certainly not massive favourites for this.”
However, despite his concerns, Edwards sounded confident his side would rise to the occasion and get a result.
He added: “Good wins don't just happen. You have to work for them.
"But you'll see a different side this week. We need to win well, and by a good score.”