Barnet player-coach Jon Nurse says the Bees are in a new position as league-leaders and it is up to the experienced heads within the squad to help the younger members adapt.

Martin Allen’s side were left frustrated on Tuesday evening as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Wrexham at The Hive - the first time the Bees have drawn a blank in a Conference fixture this term.

Despite failing to beat the Dragons, Barnet remain atop the Conference after previously-unbeaten Woking lost 1-0 at Torquay United.

And, after several seasons of struggling to avoid the drop from League 2 - before eventually succumbing in 2013 - Nurse believes Barnet have found themselves in unchartered territory, with seven wins from ten propelling them to the summit.

He said: "I think it is a position which, at Barnet, we have not really been in. We are sitting top of the table now and we are there to be shot at.

"Teams are now happy to come to The Hive and get a point. People are happy to get a point away from home because we are sitting top of the true and it is up to us as players and as a coaching staff to help the players find ways to break down teams that are going to come and sit here and try and frustrate us.

The former Dagenham and Redbridge forward continued: "We have got to be patient and keep playing our football and it will come. It is a learning curve for everyone.

"It is a new position for a lot of the boys at our club but it is a good position. We will go to the training field and work on Thursday and we will get it right for Saturday."

The Bees were beaten by a solitary second-half goal from Wrexham midfielder Robbie Evans on Tuesday evening and after taking the lead, the visitors were more than content to sit back and invite Barnet to break them down.

Despite throwing on Keanu Marsh-Brown and Luke Gambin in an attempt to unpick the Wrexham backline, Allen saw his side fail to net for the first time this term and Nurse believes the Bees will have to get used to being expected to unlock opposing defences.

He explained: "I think maybe we did not get our wide men on the ball. In previous games the subs came on and really affected the game. As I say, when they go and sit four or five men behind the ball, as they did on Saturday, it is a different situation for us and something we have got to learn, as a group of players, how to break down.

"It is a learning curve for us all. We have got a lot of young players here at the football club and a lot of players still learning their trade. So we have gone from the beginning of the season where teams have turned up and probably thought: ‘We can have a little go at Barnet’.

"To go top and play as well as we have done, and especially with the result on the TV the other day - which everyone is probably watching - teams are now happy to come here and park the bus and come away with a point and play on the counter attack, which they did tonight. It is just something we will work on and we will work on it.

"We have got the quality in the team and in the squad - as you can see - to improve and we will," reiterated Nurse.