Gary McCann found many positives despite the loss at Dulwich Hamlet on Saturday afternoon. He said, "Yes it was another defeat and I don’t like losing, but I do take solace from the performance.

"It does soften the blow a little, but we are in an industry where winning is all that counts. Nevertheless, the players deserve a huge amount of credit for the way they played.

"Dulwich are the likely champions in my opinion; last year they were a very young team with plenty of flair, but this is a team of men and I think they will cope with the lesser pitches when they deteriorate. Against us, although they had most of the possession, in terms of good chances, I think it was more even.

"When we went 3-1 down early in the second half, we could have capitulated, but we showed a character and resilience that may have been lacking in the last few weeks. Mentally, we are in a tough place at the moment, but we showed some strength.

"We grew in confidence, after getting back into the game in the first half and looked more like us, but then the sending off left us with so much to do. Then, when we pulled it back to 3-2, we created two or three really good chance and it was not until they 86th minute that they felt comfortable.

"It was a game which I thought we had everything to gain. For the first time, I felt if the game had been level we had a bench that might have been able to stretch them in the latter stages of the second half."