McIntosh: Bucks troops are playing for their futures

McIntosh was left unhappy after successive defeats to relegation strugglers this week, late goals in the matches against Whitby and Colwyn Bay seeing the Bucks return from both long trips with nothing.

And with an eye already on who might represent the club in the next campaign, McIntosh, who has been offered a new deal to remain as boss for 2016/17, is casting a firm eye over who he thinks deserves to stay.

He said: “I’ve been offered a new deal for next season which means I’ve got to start looking at who to keep and who might be good to bring in.

“Many of these players have done very well for me over time but sometimes it’s what happens most recently that you remember more and I want to see these players show me that they still have the desire to do a job. Any loyalty I’ve had to them over time can’t be allowed to sway my decisions.”

With there being realistically no chance of Buxton being relegated or promoted this season, their players are largely playing for pride as the club aims to finish as high as possible. But that meant little to McIntosh as he assessed the defeats to Colwyn Bay and Whitby.

He said: “At Colwyn Bay we haven’t defended well at all, either as a team or individually. The second and third goals in particular were poor to concede at this level.

“The manner of the defeat told me a lot about the players I’ve got here at the moment and gave me plenty of food for thought.

“Against Whitby I felt we were unlucky not to have come away with at least a point, particularly as the decision to give them the penalty was ridiculous. The ref seemed to be the only person in the ground who thought it was the right call.

“But the fact is these are games we should have won and we’ve ended up not even getting a point, which is hugely disappointing.”

Meanwhile, McIntosh has added to his squad by recruiting winger Nicky Walker from Clipstone.

Walker, 21, has represented Rotherham United, Barrow and Boston United in his career so far, with McIntosh adding: “I’ve had my eye on him for a while and know him from my Rotherham days. He’s an exciting player who will make us better, and gives us valuable options given Alastair Taylor is suspended for five games.”