SWINDON Supermarine manager Lee Spalding is demanding a reaction from his players as they take on Southern League Premier Division South leaders Taunton Town away from home on Saturday.

The Marine chief was left frustrated after his side suffered a 4-0 defeat at home to struggling Frome Town last weekend after debutant goalkeeper Martin Horsell was sent off shortly before half-time for handling the ball outside his area.

Three goals followed that dismissal as Marine’s admirable recent home form was left in ruins and they slipped back to 10th place in the table.

Marine have been on an excellent run of form lately, though, and Spalding believes his overly-critical assessment of his side’s loss last weekend goes to show how far they have come in recent months.

Spalding said: “If I’m being ultra-critical, I’m disappointed with the first half against Frome and we’ve got to make sure we’re at it from the start in every game.

“The players have been outstanding in the last 10 games. I think we’ve only lost two, so that’s some really good form. We’ve come off the back of a three-game winning streak and just not performed at the level we should have done.”

If Marine are to get back to winning ways, they must do something no other team has done at Taunton this season and claim three points.

Since the start of the season, the Somerset club have dropped just eight points at home as all six of their league defeats have come away from the Viridor Stadium.

Harrow Borough, Poole Town and Merthyr Town have all been dispatched by Marine in recent weeks, while Spalding’s men have failed to beat Hartley Wintney and Frome in between, highlighting the Marine boss’ theory that his players seem to raise their game for higher quality opposition.

He said: “We’ve got an opportunity to put it right this weekend when we go to Taunton, who are top of the league.

“They’re obviously a very good side. They’re strong, organised and they’re very good at home, so it’s going to be a really tough game.

“But we’ve probably done better against teams higher up in the league, so it will be a good test and a good chance for us to bounce back straight away.

“It will be a great game for all the lads to go back into and try and get something out of the game.”