BRIDGWATER Town co-manager Dave Pearse admitted that Western League promotion is “miles away”, after seeing his side lose twice over the festive period.

Defeats to Street and Clevedon Town leave the Robins in ninth place - six points off Exmouth Town in fourth.

Exmouth, with games in hand, look set to battle the top two of Bradford Town and Plymouth Parkway for promotion, an objective which seems out of Bridgwater’s reach now.

“Me and Karl Baggaley have to go back to the drawing board and look at which players are here for the long haul,” Pearse told the Mercury.

“Promotion is miles away - you can’t lose five games before the New Year.

“We have 19 players available, but we have a big decision to make and we may need to let some senior players go.

“Promotion’s off the cards, so do you look to the young players and build for the future?

“I think we need a squad of 16 going forward.”

Three second-half goals secured a 4-2 win for Street at Fairfax Park on Boxing Day, having handled the wet conditions better than their hosts.

Just 48 hours later, the Robins were beaten 2-1 at third-placed Clevedon Town, for whom Syd Camper - formerly of Bridgwater - got the winner.

Reflecting on the two defeats, boss Pearse said: “Boxing Day was probably in the top three worst performances since we’ve been in charge.

“Credit to Street - they worked hard and wanted it more - but it was a terrible performance from us.

“We had to go and take a good look at ourselves, as it was really disappointing.

“We tried to put it right at Clevedon, and we made a lot of changes.

“But on the day basic errors cost us; we took the lead but threw it away.

“It’s just not good enough, with the players we’ve got.

Next up for the Robins is a home match with 19th-placed Bridport, this coming Saturday (3pm).