SEAN McConville feels Accrington Stanley could not have done much more in terms of attack against Wycombe Wanderers, but has called for improved defending as a team to get the Reds back on track.

McConville gave Stanley a 15th minute lead at home to the Chairboys, and John Coleman’s men looked on course to end a five-game winless run against their fellow League One new boys with the amount of possession and chances they had.

But after Scott Kashket came off the bench to equalise in the 78th minute, Alex Samuel fired a surprise stoppage time winner for the visitors, to leave Stanley with just two points from their last six games.

Now McConville feels it is the responsibility of the more senior players in the squad to help lift the gloom that has descended over the Wham Stadium after such a promising start to life at a higher level.

“We need a bit more steel about us,” said the wide man, who took his tally for the season to seven with his strike on Tuesday night.

“We were the better team, created the better chances, their keeper has pulled off more saves, but at the end of the day we look at the result and it’s 2-1 to Wycombe.

“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got a young team so it’s maybe down to the experienced lads to rally the troops.

“It’s a tough one to take because I think we were the better side. The mood in the camp is low but as an experienced player I’ll be doing my utmost to get the lads up for Saturday now.”

Stanley have a break from league action as they take on Cheltenham in the FA Cup second round this weekend.

And while McConville would prefer a league game to get their midweek defeat out of their system he feels the cup might have come at a good time.

“Maybe a break from the league will do us good. We go into the FA Cup now and try to earn the club a bit more money, which is needed, and then hopefully get a good draw in the third round,” he said.

“But the top and bottom of it is we need a win in the league.

“We were in a similar rut last season and we went to Grimsby and rolled our sleeves up and we won 3-0. I think we need a similar performance now.

“We’ve just got to keep going. It’s an unforgiving league. Last year maybe we see that game out but this year we’re in League One so teams punish you. I think that’s the difference this year. Teams are clinical in attack.”

But he picked fault with Stanley’s own performance as well.

The 29-year-old added: “I think we were too deep for the first goal, even though it’s a great finish, and the second goal is individual error and you can’t account for that as a team.

“If someone makes a mistake there’s nothing you can do as a team. The lad’s finished it off and we’ve lost the game.

“It’s about now building up and trying to win in the FA Cup on Saturday.

“But the mood’s low in the camp and maybe it’s down to the experienced players and the management to get everyone happy again and get us playing.

“We were in a similar boat last year. It seems to be November-December that we seem to struggle. We’ve just got to win a game.”

And McConville feels it is not just the first goal that is vital to Stanley at the moment.

“We were playing okay. The first half was the best we’ve played in weeks, but we needed the second goal,” he added.

“At the minute we’re a bit flaky. We get in front and as a squad, as a team, as an 11 we need to get that second goal, and if we don’t we’re worried then because of what’s happened.

“We need to be better as a group defend better.

“We need people doing their jobs properly, no individual errors, and just working hard as a team.”

Stanley have dropped to 11th in the table, six points off the play-off places.