Neal Ardley says Notts County must respect the point they earned against Stockport County on Tuesday night.
The Magpies got off the mark in the Vanarama National League but would have had their sights set on picking up their first win after Jim O’Brien’s first-half opener.
Elliot Osborne levelled for the Hatters inside the last 20 minutes and Ardley felt the result was a fair reflection of the match.
“We had moments in the game, especially at the end when we could have won it, but we also rode our luck a bit at times,” said the boss.
“We wanted to win the match but in the second half I think we found it a little bit tough and we have to respect the point.
“When an opponent has nothing to lose and they throw themselves forwards, the reaction is often to drop and try to protect the lead.
“That meant we couldn’t get the ball going the other way and stopped trusting each other and running forwards – we ended up getting pinned in.”
Although the gaffer craves a first win of the campaign, he knows his side aren’t the finished article yet.
“We need work, there’s no doubting that,” Ardley added.
“We all want the three points and the relief of the first win but we’re still evolving so we have to pick up what we can in the next few weeks while we do our business.
“These two games will tell people that the league is tough and this is a point on the board so we need to try and build some momentum now.”
Ardley also said that Nathan Tyson will need to be assessed after he went off injured in the first half, while he also revealed that the club's appeal against Damien McCrory's red card at Eastleigh has been rejected. Both he and Michael Doyle now have two matches to serve.