KIDDERMINSTER Harriers manager Phil Brown admitted his players ‘didn’t turn up’ on their most decisive day of the season.
Harriers needed to win at Southport to assure automatic promotion back to the National League.
But they lost 2-1 – and that allowed Brackley to finish as National League North Champions.
Harriers were 2-0 down just after the break – and while Reiss McNally pulled a goal back, Brown’s side were never in contention.
Now they face a play-off semi-final next Sunday (May 4) against either Chester or Buxton.
Brown told the club’s official YouTube channel that he was ‘baffled’ by the display.
He said: “It was one game of football, and we didn’t step up to the plate.
💬 Phil Brown reacts to Saturday’s final day defeat at @southport_fc
Full interview on YouTube ⤵️#Harriers 🦅 | @PurpleGranite_
— Kidderminster Harriers 🦅 (@khfcofficial) April 26, 2025
“I think I prepared them wrongly in a sense that we looked like we had lead in our boots. You know, there was no energy in the team playing against a non league team that is not full time.
“I didn’t see it coming, to tell you the truth, but I’ve got to say it. I’ve got to apologise to every, every punter that came here fully expecting a performance that was worthy of seeing the words pride and hope.
“It was seriously beyond me. That performance today was so uncharacteristic of us over the last two or three months.
“This was probably the biggest game for Harriers in a long time, but it’s not over yet
“Now, the bottom line is, we have to win two games to get promoted. I’ve got to do something to galvanise this group who looked out on the feet. They looked as if they couldn’t breathe.
“It looked as if the pressure was getting to one or two, and that spread to three and four, and that spread to five and six.
“But we prepared properly for this, we stayed overnight. We trained at Bolton Wanderers on a fantastic surface, the training session was outstanding.
“The whole thing was geared towards one decent performance. So it’s baffled me.
“On the biggest day of the of the season, we just didn’t turn up.”
