TAUNTON Town boss Rob Dray bemoaned the 'basic errors' which saw his side slip to a second Southern League defeat on the spin, at home to Yate Town on Tuesday night.

Following on from Saturday's 3-0 loss at Gosport Borough, the Peacocks were beaten 4-0 by Yate at the Cygnet Health Care Stadium.

READ MORE: Taunton Town 0-4 Yate Town as it happened

Speaking after the match, head of football Dray said: "You can't defend like that. Everybody's got to take a little bit of responsibility, and you've got to do the basics well.

"Congratulations to Yate, they did the basics a lot better than us - run, head, kick, tackle.

"We've got enough technical ability, and better players, but if you don't do the basics well, you're getting to get caught out in any division, and that's what happened tonight."

As in the Gosport game, in which Taunton conceded after four minutes, the Peacocks were behind early on - Luke Spokes scoring with a deflected effort inside the first minute.

And Dray believes that is a habit his side needs to break, adding: "[Yate] had something to hold on to, and you can't be chasing games in this league after four minutes and one minute.

"It makes it hard, and we've only got three subs so you can only do so much."

The Peacocks had in fact dominated the first half - Dan Sullivan's shot against the post being the closest they came to equalising - before the wheels came off after the interval, but that's now 180 minutes without scoring a goal.

Dray said: "We get a goal and it changes the game massively.

"We had 12 corners in the first half, we had numerous chances and hit the post... but you can't make excuses, you've got to score. 

"I think we've got enough goals in the side, you just need something to drop for you sometimes... we weren't going to score tonight, even if we were still having a go now [30 minutes after full-time]."

In terms of turning things around, Dray believes the key lies in going back to basics and putting in the hard work which has previously made Taunton difficult to beat.

He said: "Usually [basic errors] are the hardest [thing to fix], because a lot of them are stuff that's almost forgotten in football.

"Everybody wants to be a number 10 or a winger, or do a turn and look pretty on the ball, but you've got to do those nuts and bolts every week.

"Do that, and 90 per cent of the time we'll win games, as we have done. You've got to work hard."

Dray has confidence in his squad, though, and is eager to put things right on Saturday, when Chesham United - who have won two from two so far - visit Taunton.

"I think we've got to go and play," said Dray.

"Obviously we'll miss Ollie [Chamberlain, due to suspension], but I don't think there's anything better than going back out there.

"You can over-think things and over-analyse, but nothing's ever won or lost in August - Chesham are a prime example of that.

"They were at the bottom for the first half of the season, and then finished in the top half."

Disappointed though he is with his side's start to the new season, Dray is not pushing the panic button quite yet.

He said: "It's two games, so don't panic, just be measured in what we say and do, on social media and all that, because otherwise we can end up looking very silly when we do come good - we've got good players here.

"There's one or two things [to work on], and there will be one or two players coming in and out, there's no doubt about that.

"I'm not panicking... I understand how the game works, I understand what we need to do, and one or two players have had too many opportunities, but we've still got a lot of good players here and who want to be here.

"We'll keep calm, keep measured and have another go on Saturday."