Palmer praises players for staying calm

Palmer said that the major positive coming out of the game was that his side conceded two sloppy goals but that they didn’t panic.

Palmer went on to say; “We still tried to play some football and we continued to create a lot of chances.

“When you develop a squad, you should have players who pose a threat off the bench and those players who have come on have done very well.”

Evan Garnett came off the bench and scored a quick-fire brace; with Alex Steadman and Ruben Wiggins-Thomas contributing the other two goals for the Nailers.

Palmer was pleased with Garnett's impact off the bench; however the forward is still recovering from a hamstring injury that may see him have to start on the bench again next week.

Palmer said; “Evan’s been struggling with a slight hamstring problem and after these two goals he started feeling it a bit.

“We’ve got Ruben Wiggins-Thomas, Alex Steadman, Matt Richards and Evan and when you have competition like that it’s got to be healthy.”

Despite the two sloppy goals conceded by the Nailers; the overall performance from all of the players was one of the best this season.

Palmer was pleased with the performances from the entire team and couldn’t identify a key man as he said; “I thought it was a very good team performance; I couldn’t really pick anyone out.

“I felt that it was a good all-round performance; the pleasing thing about it is that we’ve gone behind twice but the players weren’t bickering at each other, we just kept to our game plan.

“We created chances and the players took their chances so it was pleasing that we didn’t panic and I’m hoping that the players learn from this and believe that we can be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.”

The next fixture for the Nailers comes on Boxing day as they face fourth placed Sheffield FC at the Marston’s Stadium.