The column is easy to write when you are winning – much harder when you are on the current run that we are on.

The gaffer and Jimmy had their say after the Grimsby defeat and then the players had their own meeting on Monday.

We talked about the mistakes we were making and tried to get to the bottom of why we have turned from a winning team into one that throws away a two-goal lead against a team that are struggling in the league like Grimsby.

We talked about the need to eradicate mistakes as, for the last few seasons we have conceded around 80 goals and we thought this season we had turned a corner. But we have conceded six in the last two games and now have one of the worst records in the league for goals against and we know it is not good enough. We also talked about making sure our season doesn’t just disappear and we defend properly, keep the ball and try and keep clean sheets.

It was poor at Dagenham on Saturday after we started brightly. Bobby Grant scored a good goal but then, as has happened before, they have come back straight away. We conceded a second soft goal and then Bavs has spilled it for the third. And after that, we couldn’t cope with their direct style. To be fair, it was a young side with six 19-year-olds in Peter Murphy, Johnny Flynn, Dean Winnard, Tom Lees, Bobby Grant and Billy Kee but there is no excuse for defending badly as a team and they gave us a hard time after the break.

Then, for Grimsby, we really thought we could turn it around, especially with having Symesy back. And, at 2-0 up at half-time, we were in the driving seat. During the interval, we talked about stepping it up as we knew we were conceding too many chances but then it all went wrong.

We didn’t defend properly from a throw in, the second shouldn’t have been a free kick but it has taken a deflection and the third we were far too open although their lad finished well.

The most frustrating thing was that, once they took the lead, we never really threatened them and that’s not like the Accrington Stanley of earlier on in the season.

We honestly do not know what has happened and we know it’s not good enough. We expect better and we know the fans do too. We have become a soft touch and we know Darlington will be thinking that if they get an early goal tomorrow then that will be the end of us.

So we have got to go there with belief and be positive from the off. We have got to eradicate any mistakes and play the game we know – high tempo, pressing the opposition and scoring goals.

We desperately need a result and we have got to make sure we get it. Darlington have a new manager and have won two out of their last three but we have to go there and win.

The last time we lost five league games on the bounce was 2006 – a long time ago – and we had thought we had turned a corner but we have let ourselves down and six successive defeats is unthinkable.

Then it’s Port Vale on Tuesday and they still have aspirations of making the play-offs. I scored at their place to snatch a late equaliser but, to be honest, I think we should have won there. We need to get back to playing like we did when we played teams like Morecambe and Notts County and hopefully we can turn it around this weekend.