WANDERERS have been warned to get their heads around an alarming drop in form by their increasingly frustrated boss Neil Lennon.

After dropping completely out of play-off contention, the Whites are now more likely to become embroiled in a relegation scrap unless they pick up points soon.

Lennon believes the key to stopping the rot is psychological.

The Northern Irishman called a team meeting last Sunday to address the poor performance at Nottingham Forest and got the reaction he was looking for with an improved display at Middlesbrough.

Now, the Wanderers boss wants to put points on the board, starting with tomorrow’s home game against Brighton.

“It’s a challenge,” he said. “We knew this was going to be a difficult month looking at the fixtures.

“We have to ride it through and make sure we come out of the other side of it looking forward.

“We are learning a lot about the players at present and it is a great challenge for me and my backroom staff.

“We are really motivated to get it right and determined to consolidate things here and then build for next season.

“We still have 13 gamed to go and a lot of work to do.”

In what was a regular topic of conversation for his predecessors Dougie Freedman and Owen Coyle, Lennon is now questioning whether the mentality in his squad is what it should be.

Wanderers emerged from a spot of soul-searching last weekend to show some resolve at the Riverside, but evidently not enough to salvage a point.

That means the Whites are separated by six points and just two clubs – Fulham and Rotherham – from the bottom three, with 39 points left to play for.

Lennon now wants another period of self-analysis from his players before tomorrow’s game against Brighton, where he hopes to arrest the club’s slide and start moving into the safety of mid-table.

“There is definitely a mental block there – it can’t be anything physical or anything to do with their talent,” he said.

“It is a psychological thing. We discussed it again on Sunday.

“Whether we are getting the message through or whether we are able to get our points across. We feel we are but whether they are taking them on board is another thing.”