CHIPPENHAM Town boss Mark Collier says his troops need to stand up and be counted after a passive display saw them lose 2-0 to Poole Town.

With swirling winds on the south coast, the Bluebirds went in at the interval a goal down after Mo Baghdadi found the back of the net in the 43rd minute.

Matt Smith had gone close for the away side when he hit the post from distance, but the Bluebirds failed to find the net in the opening 45 minutes.

The second half was equally frustrating for Collier as the hosts doubled their advantage with just over 25 minutes to play thanks to Warren Bentley’s penalty.

The result came off the back of two impressive draws for Chippenham, who managed to pinch a point from league leaders Dartford and promotion challengers Braintree Town in their last two outings this month.

Following those results, Collier wanted to see the same again from his side, but felt the team failed to reach the same level of performance on the south coast despite putting his faith in a largely unchanged team.

“I went with the same starting XI apart from one change, Curtis McDonald wasn’t available, but the line-up and the system was the same as the one which produced to very good performances against Dartford and Braintree,” said Collier.

“In all fairness we started the game well. Matt Smith hit the post after about 10 minutes, however, we were against the elements and Poole then got a decent foothold on the game.

“They became more and more threatening, especially with the wind whipping in towards our goal, we defended relatively well but they had a few half chances.

“Poole scored in the 43rd minute, which meant we went into half-time disappointed but I expected us to take the game to us in the second half and it wasn’t to be.”

This week the Bluebirds also announced they have re-signed Swindon Town youngster Scott Twine.

After impressing during his initial stint at Hardenhuish Park last year, Collier says the teenager is a welcome return to his squad.

“Scott is ready to go for the weekend, he came on with 20 minutes to go on Tuesday,” added Collier.

“We signed him late on, he started on the bench but he has come to the club to play and rightfully so.

“He was impressive in his last time here and he came on and showed what he has got straight away.

“We are looking forward to getting him out there and helping us this season.”

Collier will hope his troops are able to bounce back from their frustrating defeat this weekend, when his team travel to Chelmsford City.

The last time the two teams met was in October and Chippenham came away with all three points following a 3-2 victory, despite blowing a 2-0 half time lead.

The Bluebirds are without a league win since Saturday, December 2 and currently sit 18th in the National League South standings.