Royston Town’s up and down form is baffling boss Steve Castle after the Crow’s suffered a third straight Southern League Division One Central loss at AFC Hayes on Tuesday night.

The Garden Walk side had previously stormed to five straight league wins over Christmas and New Year, but having been derailed by postponements due to bad weather and poor performances, Royston have dropped to seventh.

Defeat at Hayes was their second loss in four days after an identical scoreline downed Castle’s men last Saturday.

On that occasion, mid-table Godalming Town were the victors, although they were helped by the first half dismissal of Scott Bridges.

The former Aston Villa midfielder reacted after a tackle, the referee acted quickly to send him off.

Without the influential Ryan Ingrey for the majority of the past three games, Royston have struggled and although Castle knows that has been a catalyst in his side’s sticky run, he is unwilling to make excuses.

Castle said: “It has been a disappointing time for us. A real low point of the season.

“We had put that great five-game winning streak together and we were really having a go at chasing the leaders but now we have fallen away slightly.

“If anything I would say it has been complacency that has let us down. We can’t complain about whether we are playing at home or away because that should never be an issue.

“Three away games on the bounce will always be tough but that is no reason for such a poor set of results.”

Despite dropping out of the playoff places, Royston have a chance to get their stuttering promotion push back on track against sixth-bottom Daventry Town at Garden Walk this Saturday.

The Crows have not taken to their home turf since a crucial 1-0 win over promotion rivals Aylesbury on January 10.

It may be in home comforts that Royston can find solace after some dismal performances.

Castle continued: “We are by no means out of the running for those promotion slots but we have to find a little extra now to turn this run around.

“If we can’t sort ourselves out soon though it will be gone and we will all be deflated.”