THE odds have seriously lengthened on Kit Symons becoming the new full-time manager of Colchester United.

Carl Marston

THE odds have seriously lengthened on Kit Symons becoming the new full-time manager of Colchester United.

Saturday's 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Bristol Rovers, courtesy of Rickie Lambert's 51st minute winner, dealt a hammer-blow to Symons' chances of landing the job on a permanent basis.

When he was first installed as caretaker manager, following Geraint Williams' departure two weeks ago, Symons admitted that he was well down the list of potential candidates for the job outright.

His name would have been nudged further up the list, following a dazzling 4-3 victory at Tranmere Rovers, but successive 1-0 home defeats by Leicester and Rovers have hindered his cause.

“I'm a realist, and I know that these two defeats have done my cause no good whatsoever,” admitted Symons.

“It's not a result that I needed. I was in a similar position (caretaker manager) at Crystal Palace, where results were actually good, but I just have to keep giving it a go.

“I felt there was a sense of inevitability when their (Bristol Rovers) goal went in. I felt that amongst the crowd, and this issue of not winning at home will just get bigger and bigger.

“We huffed and puffed, and played some nice football in the first half. But we did not have enough guile or creativity in the first half.

“We need to pass with more purpose to create the chances. Our football was easy on the eye at times, but there was no cutting edge. We are not winning at home, which is something that we need to get out of as a group,” added Symons.

Ex-Wales and Fulham defender Symons also explained his decision to start with leading scorer Steven Gillespie on the bench, following the completion of his three-match suspension.

Symons stuck with the same starting line-up for the third successive game, although he introduced club record signing Gillespie as soon as the U's fell behind.

“I don't think that Steven (Gillespie) had a massive impact when he came on. In fact, he was all set to come on before they scored anyway,” revealed Symons.

“We had arranged a friendly for him during the week, during which he did OK without looking really sharp. Steven has been out for a while, and he is still not as sharp as he could be. I think I was right to leave him on the bench.”

Injuries and a suspension have restricted Gillespie to just two starts, since his summer move from Cheltenham Town. But he has still contributed three goals and could well return to the starting line-up for tomorrow night's Johnstone's Paint Trophy second round tie at Gillingham.