MANAGER John Sheridan admits his Newport County AFC team is too quiet and lacks leaders on the field after they threw away a two-goal lead for the second week running, writes Andrew Penman.

Sheridan’s men squandered a 2-0 lead in last week’s 4-3 defeat at Notts County and they again led 2-0 against AFC Wimbledon on Saturday.

Alex Rodman’s super strike and an own goal put County in charge but they had to settle for a 2-2 draw after the Dons’ second half fightback.

And the Exiles boss was far from happy with his side’s poor decision making on the pitch, criticising their lack of focus and communication.

“We just switched off,” said Sherdian. “I was very pleased with how we played in the first half.

“We got ourselves in a winning position and we were very comfortable.

“But if people aren’t alive and switched on 40 seconds after you’ve just told them to stay focused…

“Last week was just the same. We were in a winning position and comfortable.

“People need to stay focused and communicate to see the game out.

“Even if you do concede it’s about staying together and seeing pictures on the pitch and concentrating on winning the game 2-1.

“But we are very, very quiet as a team. Very quiet, too quiet.

“I want players to see what I’m seeing on the sidelines,” he added.

“I want them to read how we’re going to see a game through.

“They need to be organised and get a grip of each other and say things when you have to say things.

“But we’re very quiet and we seem to go under a little bit when we do concede.

“We played good stuff to get us a result and we got the goals to get us a result but, like last week, we’ve come unstuck defensively.

“We’ve just thrown the game away, just thrown two points away, and we definitely don’t have enough leaders in the team.

“Whether you can put that into someone I don’t know but we’ve got players on the pitch who could be more vocal.

“They can speak and if you see someone taking too many touches or stood too far up the pitch or not delivering the ball they need to tell each other.”