With a squad boasting ?an embarrassment of riches? and a coach who many believe is one of the best on the Island, two-time defending Premier Division champions North Village began this season as clear favourites to again prevail and complete a hat-trick of league titles.

With the Christmas break fast approaching, however, Village find themselves languishing in fifth place, seven points off the pace being set by a resurgent and undefeated Dandy Town.

Worryingly for coach Scott Morton and his talented squad, Village have now lost twice in a row, once to the Hornets in a hard-fought encounter at St.John?s Road and this past weekend to lowly Devonshire Colts, who used the victory to pry themselves off the bottom of the table.

Why then is a squad which looks so strong on paper struggling to produce the goods?

?For us ? and I think a lot of other Premier teams can attest to this ? our finishing has been really poor,? said Morton.

?We?ve created endless chances every game, but we just cannot seem to find the back of the net on a regular basis at the moment.?

Statistics would appear to confirm this assessment. Despite possessing a potentially explosive front-line, which includes the likes of Kaiwan Dill (substituted at half-time against Colts) Ralph Bean Jr, Keith Jennings and Tyrell Burgess, the Rams have scored a paltry three goals so far while conceding six.

But Morton, while acknowledging that his team have fallen well short of their best form, insisted that he was not unduly worried with the situation.

?I?m not pushing any sort of panic button,? he stressed.

?It is obvious we have not been producing like many were expecting and we are going to have to win our next two games to stay in the hunt.?

?On the positive side of all this,? he continued, ?losing can often reveal to a coach the true character of the players at his disposal. The squad over the last two years have got used to winning. Sometimes when that happens it comes a bit too easily for you and as players you start to forget about the disciplines which got you to the top in the first place.

?I have every confidence that my players will respond positively now that their backs are against the wall.?

Given their total domination of local football since 2001, Morton was prepared to admit that ?a touch of complacency? had perhaps hampered his side?s performances this time around and that the added pressure of expectancy may also have played a part.

?What I think my players have got to realise quickly is that when you are the champions, there is pressure and you have got to work twice as hard to stay at the top,? he said.

?Everybody else is coming into the match knowing they are playing the champions and are coming suitably prepared. I don?t think the mentality and discipline of the players is such that we can do the business week in and week out. That is the major problem at the moment.?

However, the Village coach rejected the premise that a large squad can often be a hindrance rather than a help when it comes to consistency of performance on the pitch.

?Having a big squad does have its problems and there is a bit of pressure to make sure that all the players are not lying idle every week,? admitted Morton.

?But I would far rather be in my position than not having enough quality players to choose from as is the case at some other clubs. Having more than enough players also creates a competitiveness in the squad which keeps everybody sharp and fighting for their place.?

?We can turn it around,? he concluded, ?but we will have to refocus and remain calm over the coming months.?