Gary McCann pulled no punches after the Leatherhead defeat. "This was as disappointing and frustrating a defeat and performance as could be. I was worried in the build-up because we looked flat, as if the efforts of the two wins had taken out too much from us.

"I seriously considered making changes - other than forced one with Arthur Lee suspended - but I think I would have been even more disappointed with that decision if we had lost having made those changes. I also thought of changing things around at half-time because we had not deserved to be 2-0 ahead.

"Too many players were not good enough on the day and I cannot understand why. I thought Josh McLeod-Urquhart played at the same levels of recent but too many were under par.

"The lead at half time felt unjust and I believe that when you are playing well, if you concede a goal, you can bounce back, but if you are playing badly, it is much harder and that was again the case on Saturday. The second goal was the most disappointing because we should have reacted quicker to the rebound than their centre-forward. We were game watching.

"It was different with the penalty because although we didn’t get to the ball from the rebound off Tom Lovelock, the ball fell straight to their player, at the angle to which he was running, and he started 6-8 yards clear of any of our players when he struck the penalty, so none could really have got to him.

"Before the Leiston game, we broke the last 10 games into quarters and I set the squad a target of points from the three, three, two and two remaining matches and we achieved the first target. If we can get a result against Needham Market on Saturday - We will be on the front foot again.

"I am aware we are running out of matches and we have to win the ones against the teams around us. 50 in recent years would have seen safety. But its more likely, 51/52 is what we will need to stay up."