ERNIE Howe was left to question the heart of his players and his own future as manager in the wake of Basingstoke Town's 3-1 FA Trophy third round exit at King's Lynn.

The former Fulham and QPR defender admitted yesterday: "I'm sitting here now discussing my future with my wife.

"I'm not happy with results and performances.

"A few players' minds are elsewhere. I can't name names, but some who are on contract are not doing enough and others are looking towards the end of the season. I'm questioning certain individuals, but the players have got me by the short and curlies because they know I'm not in a position to bring anyone else in.

"There's added incentive this year with the non-League restructuring and, like everyone, we've got to make sure we're in there (the Conference South), but money's tight and people expect so much sometimes."

Stoke, mid-table in the Ryman Premier Division, were on the rack right from the kick-off on Saturday as their Dr Martens Eastern Division hosts twice hit the woodwork in the opening ten minutes in front of a 1,089 crowd.

They eventually succumbed to goals by Dale Watkins (42 minutes) and David Staff (78) and, although Jason Bristow's 84th-minute reply set up a nerve-jangling finale, Robbie Harris ensured justice for the Linnets.

Howe admitted: "We were lucky not to get beaten by more. I knew King's Lynn were good, but I thought we could've handled it better. We had a couple cleared off the line from Neville Roach and Ben Surey, but we were totally outplayed and it would have been unjust if we'd got back into it."