GLENN Howes has revealed the Magpies held “constructive” talks on various aspects of their game in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Taunton.

Dorchester boss Howes was unimpressed with a slow start to the first half, Taunton scoring the winning goal after 17 minutes through Jared Lewington.

It prompted the former AFC Totton manager and his squad to look inwardly ahead of a trip to Beaconsfield on Saturday.

“We tried to take the emotion out of it, rather than going in there and stripping it back,” he told Dorchester’s media team.

“We felt we needed to have a bit of time to really identify some items that the players can go away and have a think about.

READ MORE: Dorchester Town 0-1 Taunton Town - match report

“We felt we were a lot better than that first half and in this league you can’t do that, particularly against sides like Taunton.

“I don’t know where it came from. We wanted to make sure our messages were clear. We have been tweaking things game by game.

“The players have had the opportunity to discuss things with themselves as well, having that quiet time, which is no bad thing.

“We’ve had a nice, constructive, open discussion – probably a bit longer than they anticipated but it gives us something to think about.

“Rather than not addressing it, raising certain items. We want more, we’re going to demand more and we’re going to work even harder.

“We’re going to do everything we can to put this right. We still don’t feel we’re far away. We’ve got a huge game Saturday (at Beaconsfield).

“We said there was going to be bumps in the road on our arrival between now and the end of the season.

“It’s absolutely paramount that we take points off teams in and around us and Saturday gives us that opportunity.”