CHARLIE Griffin has been around long enough to know that one result does not define a season.
One of Gloucester City's seven new recruits, the former Forest Green Rovers and Stevenage striker opened his Tigers account in Tuesday's 3-1 defeat by Barrow.
A targetman who has forged a career out of burying crosses, Griffin did exactly that after 21 minutes of his home debut.
But that was as good as it got for the new-look Tigers as a resurgent and match-sharp Barrow hit back to claim the points and leave City scratching their heads once more.
While disappointed with the result, Griffin has seen enough from his new teammates in the two games and countless training sessions to know they have it in them to turn things around.
"It was a disappointing result in the end. It's no excuse but we were a bit rusty after not playing for a month while Barrow have been playing every week," Griffin said.
"We've given away three sloppy goals after a great start and the result has not gone our way.
"We needed that game to get us going again and we know we have plenty of games in hand on others to get us out of trouble.
"You can do as much as you want in training and work on things – we've worked on so much in training – but it's difficult to get that going in matches.
"This is only our first or second game together as a team and we perhaps need a bit of time to bed in, but I am absolutely certain we will get it sorted."
Gloucester are the 14th different club the 34-year-old striker has represented in a goal-filled career in the lower reaches of the Football League and top divisions of the non-League scene.
Happy to have opened his goalscoring account in just his second appearance, Griffin is confident that there are many more to follow between now and the end of the season.
But unlike most number nines, he is refusing to set himself a goalscoring target in City's 17 remaining games.
"I know I've got goals in me and if I can get the service then I know I will score goals for Gloucester City," Griffin said.
"I've got one in two games now and hopefully I can get a few more to help get us out of trouble.
"I have been around long enough to know what's coming in terms of the number of games and I know how to go about preparing myself for that.
"If I can score as many goals as I can in that time and more importantly help get us out of the position we're in then I will be happy.
"I am not setting myself a target for how many goals I want to score, the target is for the team to start putting some results together."
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