Ottery St Mary slipped out of the Bill Slee Cup, beaten 4-1 at Halwill last Saturday.

The Otters had played in the final of the Bill Slee Cup last year – albeit the final being played just before the start of this season – but there’ll be no repeat this time round as they succumbed to a heavy defeat against a side who play a division higher in the Macron League.

Otter boss Dave Fairweather knows exactly what the problem is with his side. He explained saying: “We seem to have lost the knack of playing with a smile on our faces. By that I mean, enjoying what we do. If you don’t enjoy playing – or rather, if you find the whole thing very stressful – then you begin to make basic mistakes. It’s almost down to being fearful of making an error and what we need to do is to get back to basics and remember that if we stick together and help each other along, and do that with a smile on our faces and enjoy doing what we do, then the results will improve.”

He continued: “It’s not rocket science. Football is a very simple game, made difficult by a number of factors. For me, the most basic thing – apart from the obvious of requiring some playing ability – is to be able to play the game in a relaxed and confident manner. Once you have that, the rest, as they say, follows!”

The Otters are without a game this weekend as they were given a bye in the opening round of the Devon Senior Cup and so will join the competition in the next round, which is being played on October 13. Ottery are next in action tomorrow week (September 22) when they entertain East Budleigh and they are straight back in action the following midweek with a Wednesday, September 26, home game against University.

There is Sunday action for both the club’s Under-18 teams and the Ottery ladies.

The Otterettes have a cup tie at Cullompton Rangers and the team were given a boost in the past week with the news that striker Karin Underwood, who is being kindly sponsored by local business Extra Hands, has put pen to paper and will prove to be a big asset to the team in the season ahead.

Meanwhile, the Ottery Under-18s launch their Devon League campaign with a visit to Broadclyst.