Neil Young cut a frustrated figure after Chester FC’s winless start to the season continued on Tuesday.

The Blues boss saw enough in the 2-0 home loss to Hereford United – like he had done in the opening-day 3-0 defeat at Barnet – to suggest his promoted side can be competitive in the Skrill Premier.

But he knows they will have to cut out the silly mistakes that have blighted their opening games of the campaign.

Young said: “Hereford didn’t bother us at all first half and without us creating a great deal, we played the better football and got into some good areas.

“Then we’ve been undone by a very silly goal, similar to Barnet on Saturday.

“And once you go a goal down to a team as organised as Hereford are, you’re going to struggle to get back into it. Then you have a man sent off and concede from another set-piece.

“Naivety at its best probably sums up the two games we’ve played so far – and I said that to the lads in the dressing room.

“We’ve conceded five goals now but nobody has opened us up, nobody has scored a goal that you would say was a great finish. It’s a case of five mistakes and five goals.

“We need to stick together and try again on Saturday.”

The Blues welcome fellow part-timers Woking to the Deva Stadium this weekend (3pm).

Young said: “It’s not about the first six games of the season, it’s about evolving as we go.

“But we have to improve as we go and the first thing we need to do is knock the mistakes out because this league is cruel, you get punished and you saw that on Tuesday.”

Young also believes his attack is lacking a ‘cutting edge’.

He hopes the return of on-loan striker Alex Titchiner from an ankle injury will help remedy that.

Fellow forward Ben Mills is struggling with a back injury while defender Michael Kay is set to be suspended after being sent off against Hereford.

“We’ve got to stick to our guns and stick to what we believe in,” said Young, who is still chasing a centre-back and has sent young striker Tom Peers on loan to Witton Albion.

“The hard thing for me is that it’s okay being a full-time manager but the next day I’ve got no players to work with.

“When you get beat the first thing you want to do is get them back on the pitch the next morning.

“So I’ve got to go away, look at what we’ve got and look at a way for us to get a win on Saturday.”

Captain George Horan (Conference Player of the Year) and former midfielder Antoni Sarcevic (Rising Star) have been nominated for prizes at this year’s North West Football Awards.