Martin Allen has told his Barnet players to keep believing in themselves ahead of their trip to London rivals AFC Wimbledon.

The Bees are 18th in League Two and are three points behind the Kingsmeadow side after a difficult start to the season, having become Conference champions the year before.

And the manager called on his squad to keep faith in their ability and return to winning ways.

Allen told the club's official website: “We’re a good team, we’ve got good players, and last season we won away from home all the time.

“You could see why from the way we played (at Plymouth).

“This is what we do, this is how we play and this is what we’ve got – we’ve got very good players and a very good team.

“We have to make sure that we all keep believing, and get ready for our game at Wimbledon on Saturday.”

The Bees lost 2-1 at Plymouth on Tuesday night and Allen was proud of his team's performance.

The Barnet boss added: “I thought that we played very well as a team. I thought tonight was a superb performance, and it’s very frustrating not to come away with anything.

“Once again our team has played so well, with such spirit, with such quality, and completely nullified the opposition.

“How we’ve lost that game I don’t know. Plymouth had two shots in the second half and scored two goals. Apart from that, the whole game was played down their end of the pitch.

“They didn’t create anything and we just dominated the game.

“I’ve never had a spell in my career where we’ve hit the post and the crossbar so many times – it’s been quite surreal the amount of times that has happened. I can’t fault the players’ effort, commitment or energy.”