After another disappointing defeat at the hands of AFC Wimbledon on Saturday, Wycombe fans have been left with more questions than answers about what the issue currently is.
Unfortunately for Michael Duff, he faced the same problem today that had plagued Mike Dodds too often, with the Chairboys finding themselves two goals down and having a mountain to climb, before they start to show their teeth.
This is the fourth time this season that this exact scenario has played out, with previous examples against Bradford City, Stockport County, and Peterborough United, which proved to be the nail in the coffin for the former Wanderers head coach.
After the match, Duff gave a very revealing interview with BBC Three Counties reporter Sam Avery, pinning a mentality issue within the squad as the reason this scenario keeps coming back to bite Wanderers again and again.
The 47-year-old hinted that the squad may feel like they have a divine right to come to a place such as Wimbledon, and easily win thanks to the quality and value of the squad, which is a mentality which will get you nowhere in League One.
It does seem odd for this to be the case though, as players such as Jack Grimmer and Fred Onyedinma who represented Wycombe in the days when they were always looked upon as the underdog still play for the club, and you’d like to think these senior players wouldn’t allow this sort of mentality to eek it’s way into the dressing room.
At League One level, nobody has a divine right to beat anyone. It’s a fact that Chairboys fans know all too well over the last five years, considering the stature of some of the clubs they’ve beaten in league action.
However, the Buckinghamshire side may now have a bit of complacency in the camp, and the new head coach will certainly be looking to stamp that out as quickly as possible.
It’s very refreshing to see Duff say it how it is, and be transparent about the crux of the issue, which is potentially preventing this group of players from becoming an excellent team which they certainly can be.
The performance against Wimbledon was everything the 47-year-old doesn’t want his side to be, as the players failed to get any of the basics right in the first-half, which ultimately went on to cost them the game.
There’s been too many times that Wycombe have looked shaky defensively early on, and never really got going, and this exact issue is what’s costing them valuable points, particularly in away matches.
Fortunately, having an authoritative figure like Duff in the dugout will undoubtedly get some of those players who haven’t got the right mentality back in line, which is something that Dodds clearly wasn’t able to do.
It’s an eye-opening revelation from the new Wanderers boss, as it proves the previous brand of football was just a small part of a whole host of issues that need to be ironed out, if the Chairboys want to find some consistency.
Dealing with something like this is a very difficult problem for any manager or head coach, so Duff will be racking his for potential solutions, which he might be close to getting answers to.
It’s obvious that sitting the players down and addressing the mentality issue likely won’t have much of a difference, as it seems to stem deeper than anything a good talking to can resolve.
Instead, Duff must show some tough love, and pick an XI which plays for the badge, and knows they must work hard and impress to retain the shirt, a good bit of old-school management.
Not only does this send a message to the players left out of the squad, but it also shows the players that are playing if they drop off or start to get complacent, you’ll lose your spot in the XI.
It will be interesting to see what Duff has learned after three matches with his new squad, and what changes are implemented in next Saturday’s home clash with Barnsley that can prevent Wycombe from these sluggish first-half performances.
