King’s Lynn Town boss Gary Setchell offers some perspective ahead of FA Trophy test

Gary Setchell has not lost sight of the bigger picture unfolding in front of him at The Walks.

Back-to-back home defeats – including a League Cup humbling to lower-level Lincoln United on Tuesday night – has rocked many supporters' confidence during a month Lynn's boss himself described as massive for the club. But ahead of today's FA Trophy second qualifying clash with same-league Stourbridge, Setchell has put a disappointing few days into perspective.

'If you look at our last two results, you could say we're bang out of form, but that's not strictly true,' said the Lynn boss whose side are just a point outside of the play-offs.

'Form isn't judged over two games. It's done over a longer period of time. And our form over the last eight to 10 games is actually pretty good. On Saturday (Curzon Ashton) we deserved to lose but we were impeded by a red card. On Tuesday we were dire.

'I didn't want us to play as poorly as we did in midweek but I made nine changes. That said I was still disappointed with how we performed and I'll never hide away from that.'

Just 186 supporters – the lowest for a competitive fixture at the Linnets' stadium since 1993 – watched Lynn's 3-0 defeat to Lincoln. Setchell, his players and even chairman Buster Chapman have come in for criticism from some fans for their part in a night to forget. But the man at the helm remains certain he adopted the right approach for the Northern League's knockout competition.

'The fans prioritised the competition as well, only 186 people came to watch,' said Lynn's boss of the amount of Town's faithful who paid the normal admission price of £10 to take in the fixture.

'I had a look at a young keeper, some young defenders, a young midfielder and a young striker. I had some first-teamers in and around them. Lincoln just wanted to win the game more than us.

'We were very disjointed but that's not a shock after making nine changes. We just didn't get going. We gave some players some valuable experience and others a rest they needed. We got knocked out of the League Cup, and that's what it is, the Doodson Sport League Cup. There were a lot of strange results in it and crowds were down compared to what they are in the league. Financially it's a competition that can be a massive hindrance.

'I chose the team and I stand by my decisions. There's three things we want to do really well in, the Evo-Stik Premier Division, the FA Cup and FA Trophy. The League Cup and Norfolk Senior Cup are a chance to have a look at one or two things.'

Steve Spriggs and Dan Quigley miss out through suspension while Sam Mulready (broken nose) is also unavailable. Michael Frew (calf), Greg Smith (back) and Ross Watson (heel) are injury concerns. Lynn beat Stourbridge, 13th, but just four points behind their hosts having played a game less, 1-0 at The Walks earlier this term. The winner – which will be decided by a replay if scores are level after 90 minutes – will pocket £3,250 in prize money.