Phil Miles has demanded more from his players after Faversham were beaten 3-1 by 10-man Herne Bay on Saturday.

Without a win in five league games Town are down to 17th place in Bostik South East just three points clear of the bottom two ahead of Saturday’s big home game with fellow strugglers Three Bridges.

Joint boss Miles said: “The performance was massively disappointing, we knew what to expect, we knew they would run and give it a go.

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“Going into the game we thought the XI that started had more than enough experience.

“We conceded a sloppy goal after a comedy of errors really but we equalised and headed into half-time feeling we were back in the game.

“Their guy got sent off early in the second half and that’s when it all fell apart, for whatever reason.

“We thought all the goals were avoidable.

“We looked like we were going to go on and build after they went down to 10 men but it was the opposite.

“They worked harder and showed more desire, it was embarrassing and unacceptable, we said that to the players, they know that.

“They know the minimum we should have got was a draw, we felt we could have pushed on with them on 10 men but it wasn’t to be.

“We were disappointed, so were the players and we were also disappointed for the supporters who came down.

“We were a bit speechless afterwards really, we didn’t really know what to say but given where we are we need to move on quickly.”

A gulf in experience between the sides proved an alarming feature to the contest as nerves seemingly hindered the Lilywhites.

Miles added: “No disrespect to Herne Bay, they were full of young kids at the start of their careers, they’re coming out of the academy and they showed more desire than players that have been at this standard for years, they were shown up.

“I don’t think their keeper had a save to make, it looked from our perspective that our confidence was so low and I think the players felt a little bit sorry for themselves in the second half.

“It wasn’t the fact we lost to 10 men it was the way we lost. It wasn’t acceptable.

“We’re hoping players are going to go out and show a bit more. The priority is becoming safe.”

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