Bees humiliated: ‘I’ll see it right’ says manager as fans call for his head

Barnet manager Paul Fairclough is not usually one to keep the media waiting.

Win or lose, he normally appears for the post-match press conference within a few minutes of the final whistle.

So you knew there were some serious words being said in the dressing room after 5pm on Saturday, as Fairclough and the players had still not emerged more than an hour later.

Not that any manager would let his troops off the hook after a performance like this. And Fairclough also made a point of talking separately to all of his senior players. Ironically, on a day when captain Ian Hendon - writing in the matchday programme - called on some of the youngsters to start taking more responsibility, Fairclough was turning to his old heads in a bid to get some answers.

To be fair to Barnet, they actually looked the better side until the Imps struck out of the blue midway through the first half. Then it was all downhill - on an incline steeper than the famous Underhill slope.

Lincoln were three up before the break. The Bees, only playing for pride after the interval, could not even salvage that and looked utterly demoralised way before they left the pitch.

Fairclough admitted he was shellshocked, and described it as a humbling and humiliating experience.

But he refused to give in, even though some fans were calling for him to quit.

"I am determined to see it right," he said: "It's a normal reaction for the fans to call for the manager's head."

Lincoln, to their credit, were ruthless, but the way Barnet caved in at the back was alarming to say the least.

However, it might have been very different if Hendon had converted the first chance of the match, which came on 15 seconds. Liam Hatch won the ball on the left and rolled it towards the edge of the area, but the arriving Barnet captain placed his shot wide.

Magno Vieira then had a couple of chances before the Imps struck on 26 minutes with their first opening.

Lee Frecklington was set free after a Hendon ball was intercepted. He waited for keeper Ross Flitney to advance and then squared it for Jamie Forrester to roll into an empty net.

Hatch forced the keeper to tip away a volley within a minute of the goal, but it was Lincoln who struck again just after the half-hour. The offside trap was beaten once more and Flitney brought down Forrester with a trailing leg as the striker tried to round him. The Barnet keeper escaped with a yellow card, and Forrester sent him the wrong way from the penalty spot.

It was three on 38 minutes. The diving Flitney could only push the ball out after Mark Stallard got a feint touch to a Scott Kerr free-kick. Lee Beevers beat Hatch to the rebound to put the game out of the home side's reach.

Fairclough summed up the first half: "We needed to score first. We didn't and they did with their first attempt. We then conceded two more, both from errors."

It got even worse seven minutes into the second period when Nicky Bailey tripped Frecklington on the edge of the box. The referee said the foul was inside the area and Forrester completed his hat-trick with his second penalty of the afternoon.

The Barnet heads dropped and unmarked sub Leon Mettam bundled home a fifth from close range to complete - in Fairclough's words - the horror story'.

As the Bees boss declared after the game, it's back to the drawing board. I'll see it right' says manager as fans call for his head By PAUL WREYFORD Barnet manager Paul Fairclough is not usually one to keep the media waiting.

Win or lose, he normally appears for the post-match press conference within a few minutes of the final whistle.

So you knew there were some serious words being said in the dressing room after 5pm on Saturday, as Fairclough and the players had still not emerged more than an hour later.

Not that any manager would let his troops off the hook after a performance like this. And Fairclough also made a point of talking separately to all of his senior players. Ironically, on a day when captain Ian Hendon - writing in the matchday programme - called on some of the youngsters to start taking more responsibility, Fairclough was turning to his old heads in a bid to get some answers.

To be fair to Barnet, they actually looked the better side until the Imps struck out of the blue midway through the first half. Then it was all downhill - on an incline steeper than the famous Underhill slope.

Lincoln were three up before the break. The Bees, only playing for pride after the interval, could not even salvage that and looked utterly demoralised way before they left the pitch.

Fairclough admitted he was shellshocked, and described it as a humbling and humiliating experience.

But he refused to give in, even though some fans were calling for him to quit.

"I am determined to see it right," he said: "It's a normal reaction for the fans to call for the manager's head."

Lincoln, to their credit, were ruthless, but the way Barnet caved in at the back was alarming to say the least.

However, it might have been very different if Hendon had converted the first chance of the match, which came on 15 seconds. Liam Hatch won the ball on the left and rolled it towards the edge of the area, but the arriving Barnet captain placed his shot wide.

Magno Vieira then had a couple of chances before the Imps struck on 26 minutes with their first opening.

Lee Frecklington was set free after a Hendon ball was intercepted. He waited for keeper Ross Flitney to advance and then squared it for Jamie Forrester to roll into an empty net.

Hatch forced the keeper to tip away a volley within a minute of the goal, but it was Lincoln who struck again just after the half-hour. The offside trap was beaten once more and Flitney brought down Forrester with a trailing leg as the striker tried to round him. The Barnet keeper escaped with a yellow card, and Forrester sent him the wrong way from the penalty spot.

It was three on 38 minutes. The diving Flitney could only push the ball out after Mark Stallard got a feint touch to a Scott Kerr free-kick. Lee Beevers beat Hatch to the rebound to put the game out of the home side's reach.

Fairclough summed up the first half: "We needed to score first. We didn't and they did with their first attempt. We then conceded two more, both from errors."

It got even worse seven minutes into the second period when Nicky Bailey tripped Frecklington on the edge of the box. The referee said the foul was inside the area and Forrester completed his hat-trick with his second penalty of the afternoon.

The Barnet heads dropped and unmarked sub Leon Mettam bundled home a fifth from close range to complete - in Fairclough's words - the horror story'.

As the Bees boss declared after the game, it's back to the drawing board.