'˜I told players at half-time defeat would end our season,' says furious Worksop Town boss

The Tigers boss was still livid after the final whistle, despite a 4-3 victory in a derby game.

Worksop trudged off at the break 3-1 down, and looked certain to be heading for a heavy defeat.

Shaw revealed some of the more printable content from his half-time rant.

“We went 1-0 up in complete control, I thought business as usual.

“Then we took our foot off the gas, players jogging around the pitch after five minutes thinking job done.

“We could have been 5-1 down at half-time.

“I said it could get embarrassing, I was worried about them getting battered by a big score.

“I questioned them about being winners, I said they were acting like losers.

“Retford worked their backsides off, but it wasn’t good enough, from such a talented group of players.”

“We said if we don’t win, it’s season over.”

Shaw believes a defeat would have been a huge blow, potentially fatal, to the club’s title aspirations.

“It really would have dented our chances,” he said.

“We’ve got to go to every game and win.

“We need to put pressure on everyone else - and if Tadcaster keep winning, we need to keep winning.

“If we don’t win the games, the opposition gain because we’ve played the most games.”

Two substitutes rescued Tigers, Mitch Husbands and Andy Ofosu coming off the bench to score and bring Worksop level.

Shaw said: “It was plain to see we needed something, you don’t need to be the manager of the football team to see that.

“We gave the players who came off a chance but I didn’t see enough.

“So I stuck another striker on, we got a bit of joy but not enough so I stuck another striker on.

“We got back in the game with two great goals.

“But it shouldn’t take substitutions to get reactions, the 11 players we’re backing to get the result need to do the job.”

The match winner came from the boot of Steve Woolley, who looked like a man possessed in the second half.

For Shaw it was the highlight of the match.

He said: “Steve Woolley’s goal was the main reason you’d pay your money tonight, if the crowd were waiting for something that was it.

“He’s a quality player. He’s played for a lot of the teams I’ve managed, I’ve known him for a long time.

“The goal itself was terrific.”