HORNCHURCH boss Daryl McMahon cannot wait to get back in action against Leiston on Saturday.

The Urchins head to Victory Road for an FA Cup third round qualifying round.

And McMahon is looking for a big improvement after last weekend’s 2-0 defeat to Chelmsford City.

“I’m looking forward to Leiston,” said McMahon.

“It’s a shame we didn’t have a game on Tuesday because when you have a performance like Saturday you want to play quickly again.

“It wasn’t just the result because you can lose any game of football, but I just thought we were miles off it.

“The performance levels were unacceptable from us and we have to look at them and improve, starting with Leiston.

“It’s a good chance to bounce back in the FA Cup.”

Hornchurch head into the clash sitting 14th in National League South.

And McMahon admitted they got what they deserved in the Essex derby.

“First of all congratulations to Chelmsford,” he added.

“They fully deserved their win and I thought they were excellent from start to finish.

“In Charlie Ruff they also had the best player on the pitch by a long way, but from our perspective we were miles off where I expect us to be.

“There was no intensity in our play, we didn’t press the ball well enough and there were too many gaps between our units which I feel has been unlike us.

“I feel it’s been really difficult for sides to come here this season. Saturday it wasn’t.

“Chelmsford had the run of the pitch and were by far the better team, but it’s not one of those I’ll sweep under the carpet.

“We’ve got to embrace it and say we weren’t good enough. We’ve got to be better than we were on Saturday.”

Hornchurch have been boosted by the arrival of three new players with Louis Lomas, Scott Kashket and Harry Gibbs all joining.

“We’ve signed three really good players and we need to have a settled squad as well,” said McMahon.

“All season we’ve been having people leave and people come in, so hopefully now we do have a settled squad for a few months and we can build some togetherness and momentum.

“We feel like we’ve got a really strong group with lots of talent in it, but you’ve got to go out and perform.

“Bringing in Louis, he’s got really good experience and he’s played for Southend the last two years. Bringing 'H' back to the club, he's big and powerful and he will give us presence at the back.

“With Scotty he’s got real talent and ability and you saw that when he came on."