‘I would love to walk in the changing room at half time and full time and have to separate players away from each other' - boss Michael Birmingham wants to see Horndean develop ruthless streak after Christchurch draw

The Deans, who have now won just one of their previous four league matches, went ahead through Zak Willett's 18th-minute opener only to be pegged back by Eder Batista's free-kick just two minutes later.

For Birmingham, it was more frustration as the Wessex Premier table-toppers were unable to collect all three points.

The Horndean boss conceded a return of 13 points from a possible 24 available in their previous eight outings in the league is ‘pathetic’.

And Birmingham is demanding the niceties within his squad stop and they begin to become more ruthless moving forward.

He said: ‘The players have to take more responsibility. In my opinion, I feel like they’re a good bunch of boys, they really are, but it’s like they’re turning up because they’re good friends.

‘There’s not that ruthlessness, I said to them yesterday, ‘you can be mates in the changing room, but on that pitch you ain’t mates, you’ve got a job to,’ if you’re mate isn’t doing it, as long as it’s done in the right way, you’ve got to remind him that.

‘Everything at the moment, no-one can take criticism, they take it personal if anyone says anything out on the pitch.

‘I would love to walk in the changing room at half time and full time and have to separate players away from each other, but I haven’t and it’s gone out of the game.

‘What we are at the moment, we’re toothless at the moment, we’re happy to accept it.

‘If I’m being honest, I cannot wait for this Christmas break so we can get our heads together, sort things out and get back to basics on the training pitch.

‘We’ve really, really, really got to go again and find the button because otherwise our season is over.’