POSITIVES were very thin on the ground as Wimbledon piled on City’s January agony.

But once the recriminations and indignation from a humbling defeat had died down, there was at least one reason to look back with a hint of satisfaction.

The sight of Adam Chicksen playing his first game for over three months – and going the distance – was a timely boost in a period when everything seemed to be going wrong.

Four league losses on the bounce since the FA Cup exit to Yeovil have laid it on the line for tomorrow’s trip to Oldham.

And the left back guarantees he will be doing everything in his power to get the result that City – and Stuart McCall – desperately require.

Chicksen said: “I’m not going to change my attitude towards training and games. I’m going to carry on giving everything and I know all the lads will do the same.

“If you’re not strong characters, you’ll get found out in the game. There is no hiding place, especially when you’re having defeats like that one.

“You see the strong ones and the weak ones. Now we’ve got people in, they are going to be fresh and eager and pushing us for our spots and we’ll love the challenge.

“I was delighted to get through the first game. But I don’t want to just get through – I want to be hungry and at it fighting for every ball.

“That will come back to me. I’ve got to keep going and I’m not going to shirk.”

City have been in self-destruct mode defensively during their current slump and Chicksen admits opponents will look to prey on that. Character tests do not come any bigger in righting the recent wrongs to stay in the play-off picture.

“You can see the confidence is low but if you don’t show the energy and positivity to keep going, you’re going to get hit hard,” he added.

“Teams who are on good form will lick their lips and try to find our weaknesses and mistakes. We can’t afford to keep handing it to them.

“We can’t keep making those mistakes week in, week out. We’ve got to learn or we’ll keep getting punished.”

Restoring faith off the pitch will be another job after the prickly reaction to an eighth home defeat. Some fans ironically cheered when Jake Reeves and Nicky Law were substituted.

Chicksen can understand why the crowd feel so frustrated at seeing City suddenly fall away – but insists they will arrest the slump.

He said: “After five defeats, it’s not going to be a great atmosphere. We need to give the fans something to cheer about and the results they deserve.

“I’ve been in this position before and it does turn round but you have got to be strong mentally.

“You can’t say the opposition is miles fitter than us or technically better than us. It’s never that case.

“It’s about confidence – and you only get that by waking up every day knowing that you’re going to give everything and results will come.

“I’ve seen it before. The lads who stand up to it and keep going will bring it back round in your favour.

“A good team doesn’t suddenly become a bad team. Most of the players out there were winning games at the start of the season.

“You can’t look round and say we haven’t got this or that. We’ve got to show now that we’re men and stand up and try and get a result.”