Marcus Bignot has questioned the ‘mentality’ of his Chester players in the wake of their midweek defeat at the hands of Woking.

The Blues – who had won their first game under new manager Bignot 2-0 against Maidenhead – were outclassed by an impressive display from the visitors, falling behind to Kane Ferdinand's 10th minute header before Jamie Philpot capitalised on a terrible Andy Halls’ error to seal the points.

The 43-year-old boss explained how he’d ‘learned a lot’ about his players from the way they performed, even describing the defeat as a ‘blessing’ in disguise as he begins to establish which players can be relied upon to drag Chester out of the National League relegation zone.

“I came into this job and the right here, right now is results,” he said.

“Yes, performances help get results but it’s about finding a way when we’re not playing well to not lose football matches, and that's picking up the odd draw.

“We’ll have that mentality in a couple of weeks, because I've learned a lot about this group tonight. They’ve been great up until tonight, they have been superb, but in a positive way out of a negative result and performance, I’ve learned a lot about them.

“This time around if we don’t play as well we’ll make sure we don’t lose the football match. To learn so quickly about my players is a blessing.”

Bignot admitted he was ‘waiting’ for a poor display from his players as otherwise he wouldn’t be in the Blues hotseat himself, following the sacking of Jon McCarthy last month.

“I wasn’t one to get too carried away with the (Maidenhead) result last Saturday and I was kind of waiting for this in a way if I am honest,” said Bingot, who will assess winger Craig Mahon today after he limped off with a muscle strain.

“That’s because there’s a reason I’m standing here today, there’s a reason why a manager has gone.

“But it’s not just down to a manager, there is blame on both parts, all parties.

“First-half we were second best but Lynch hasn’t really had to make a save of note so we restricted their chances.

“We started well in the second-half in terms of the momentum and the stats show we were in the game, so it’s a blow losing that second goal.

“I am hugely disappointed about the results first and foremost, secondly the performance but the positive is I’ve learned a lot out of this and we must make sure this doesn't happen again.”

Asked whether there are any funds available to strengthen his squad in the coming weeks, Bignot explained he won’t make any ‘rash decisions’ and will continue to work with the squad at his disposal, who he retains ‘belief in’, ahead of Saturday’s derby clash away at Tranmere Rovers.

“For me, the remit is to work with the group we’ve got,” he added.

“I took the job because I believe in this group and that hasn’t changed. I didn’t get carried away when we won and I won’t get carried away here and make rash decisions.

“We’ll get to work on Thursday and we’ve got to put in a display on Saturday that gets us a result, that’s what I want to see.

“I put myself in the players shoes, and if I'm playing in that type of atmosphere, a derby with important points at stake, then I know what I’m bringing to the table.”