On Saturday Martin Gritton grabbed his seventh goal of the season, his 76^th minute header helping to maintain his remarkable scoring run since joining the Silkmen in the summer. But that was scant consolation for the centre forward who felt the defeat more than anyone.

Martin gets off the mark earlier this season

"It's hard to explain why we were so below par on Saturday. After the disappointing result at Mansfield we felt we had a second chance against Brentford, one we were grateful to take with a hard working display. But you have to earn the right to play and against Rushden we didn't. We failed to impose any presence on the game and didn't hurt them at all."

"It's fair to say the gaffer wasn't happy, that's putting it mildly! And as players we could have no argument about the points he raised and the result of the game. We gifted another early goal and then switched off moments before half-time, their player unmarked when heading home."

"That was a big body blow but at half time we still felt we were still in with the shout. But that all ended when we conceded the third. We did have a few chances and I thought Simon Wiles did well when he came on, delivering the cross for my goal. But it wasn't to be and our interest in the cup competitions came to an end for the season."

"No one likes getting knocked out of the FA Cup, me more than anyone. And I know it will have hurt the fans especially after last season. Whilst I wasn't at the club, I know how special the day out to Stamford Bridge was and it would have been great to give ourselves the chance to do it all over again."

"But the season is by no means over and if we can just get back to doing the things we did well early on in the season then we should start to climb the table. Simple effective football is the order of the day right throughout the team from back to front. It's a collective effort. The gaffer has said he expects to make a few changes and no one can take their place for granted and that means we all have to be on our toes and working hard to get the shirt."

"The gaffer added to the squad last week and I know both Phil and Sean are itching to play. Sean trained with us early in the season and he really impressed me both in terms of physical presence and ease on the ball."