Braintree Town manager Alan Devonshire insists there will be no room for self-pity for his players as they return to Vanarama Conference Premier action with a trip to Dover Athletic tonight.

The Iron boss was bitterly disappointed as his team crashed out of the FA Cup with a 6-0 defeat by Chesterfield on Sunday and now has the task of picking them up as they look to turn around some woeful league form in recent weeks.

Braintree haven’t won in their last nine league outings and have failed to find the target in seven of their last eight games as they have struggled with a crippling injury list.

But Devonshire won’t allow his players to wallow in self-pity and knows hard work will be key to getting back on track.

He said: “I don’t think you can blame a lack of confidence (for the defeat by Chesterfield).

“It would be easy to do that, but I don’t want to blame that.

“We were upbeat before it.

“We just have to knuckle down and not feel sorry for ourselves.”