BOSS Andy Wyton has admitted that Gornal Athletic's recent poor form has scuppered their chances of winning the league this season.

The Peacocks fell to a 2-0 away defeat to rivals AFC Bridgnorth last Saturday to take their winless streak to three games.

The run has seen leaders Sporting Khalsa extend the gap between themselves and Gornal to ten points, whilst they still boast four games in hand.

Wyton said: "We can't win the league now. These last three games have been really poor and have ended our challenge.

"We now need to get our season back on track. We are in with a chance of winning a cup and can still finish second. If we do that then it would have been a pretty good season.

"But we are in danger of having that ripped away from us if we don't get back to the form we are capable of.

Wyton's faced a selection headache last Saturday with five players absent due to illness but refused to blame that on the defeat.

"Injuries is no excuse. The team I picked was good enough to get a result but we didn't do enough. It caps a really poor run from us.

The Peacocks went into the game following back-to-back 2-2 draws against Wellington and Shifnal.

However, the manager at Garden Walk has challenged his players to finish the season strongly, especially if they want to play a part next season.

"There will be changes in the summer because we haven't show the character you need to be able to win the league," added the manager.

"When things are going well we are a strong team and as good as anything in this league, but when things aren't going our way we really struggle.

"Our attitude isn't right. As soon as we lost top spot we haven't recovered or played at the same level.

"That is down to some of the players not being up for the fight. They must now show me that they want to be here next season."

Athletic were due to face Southam United away last night in the semi-final of the Birmingham FA Midweek Floodlit Challenge Cup.

They will then have a break in the fixture list this Saturday before returning to league action against Bilston Town Community a week later.