Assistant manager John Freegard apologies to the fans after after relegation strugglers Clyst dismantled his side on Saturday.

He said after the threashing: "On behalf of the management team however I would like to apologise to the supporters and committee for what must be the worst performance seen at Devizes for years."

The result came after what Freegard described as one of the best performances of the season when his players were 1-0 winners at Backwell last Tuesday.

Freegard, who was in charge because manager Mark Godley was away, said: "How Devizes we can go from the best performance of the season in beating Backwell to losing at home to Clyst, it is impossible to explain."

Devizes failed to come out of the starting blocks as quick as their guests and found themselves two down in the first five minutes.

After the first horrifying five minute the Devizes players seemed to get their act together and on 20 minutes pulled one back thanks to some excellent teamwork form strikers Dave Lloyd and Dave Macey.

A strike from forward Dave Macey and an own goal put the home side back in contention before the break.

A poor back pass from Clyst allowed Lloyd to run on and supply Macey with the killer pass.

The ex-Melksham striker made no mistake and scored with ease.

Just eight minutes later the home side were level when Nick Mooney sent a dangerous cross into the box which a

Clyst defender headed passed his keeper when under no pressure.

"We were level without deserving it," said Freegard.

The players received a severe roasting at half-time from Freegard but it had no effect as he saw their first half performance deteriorate in the second period.

Freegard said they went on to concede another four through a series of embarrassing mistakes.

He said: "Take nothing away from Clyst though as they demonstrated that if you show the right attitude and application for your club you can get a result," he added.

"The players are aware of how badly they played and are intent on ensuring there is no repeat."

It seemed as Devizes did not come out of the changing rooms for the second half and were on the wrong side of onslaught.

The only bright spot of the weekend was the news that striker David Lloyd has turned down a move to high flyers Corsham Town.

"Dave is a Devizes lad and we could not see him being interested in a move away from his home town," he said.

The management team must now try and pick the players up for a tough away fixture on Saturday at Barnstaple, who are just one point behind them in the table.