Defender Bondz N’Gala insists Barnet remain confident of emerging from their sticky patch and winning promotion.

A 3-1 loss at home to Grimsby Town on Saturday saw the Bees’ lead at the Conference summit cut to one point, with Bristol Rovers breathing down their neck.

With Rovers hosting mid-table Braintree Town on Tuesday night, Barnet could be overtaken at the top for the first time since the end of August before their next game at Altrincham on Saturday.

However, man-mountain N’Gala insists the players remain upbeat about their chances of achieving their aim of returning to the Football League.

“We are still positive,” stated N’Gala. “We work hard in training all week, this is a little sticky patch but we will come through it and get back to winning ways.

“We work hard all week; for each other, for ourselves, and we know if you keep working hard it is only right things will turn.”

The former West Ham United centre-back added: “We are not feeling any pressure. We are top of the table and everyone comes here and it is their cup final so we have just got to rise to the occasion and be crowned champions by the end of the season.”

Barnet were below par in the first half and struggled to work Grimsby goalkeeper James McKeown, going in at half time a goal down.

Conor Clifford levelled from 25 yards after the restart but the Mariners struck two late goals through Craig Disley and Jon-Paul Pittman to snatch all three points at the death.

Head coach Martin Allen has insisted throughout the season and on Saturday he does not lose his temper with the players but N’Gala revealed otherwise.

He said: “He gave us a bit of a rollicking and we had to liven up a bit. The first half was not fantastic but we came out in the second half better for his team talk.

“It was a great start to the second half; a very positive start and we were high up in their half of the pitch causing them problems,” N’Gala opined.

And, like his manager, the 25-year-old is not concerning himself with what the sides beneath Barnet are up to.

He stated: “It is nothing that I knew about (Bristol Rovers v Braintree Town). We just have to get on with it, win our own games and if we win our games we will be fine.

“It is nothing that we think about. We have got our target which we have to reach in order to win league.

“We do not really look at other results or what other people are doing. We just look at our own games now and if we win our games from now until the end of the season we will win the league.”