Chatham manager Tony Beckingham believes his team is trying too hard to get their first win of the season.

Having been knocked out of the FA Cup with 10 men in midweek, Chatham hope to open their Ryman League Division 1 South account at Lewes on Saturday and then at home to Cray Wanderers on Monday.

Beckingham said: “They’re both expected to fight it out to get promoted and will certainly be in the play-offs at the least.

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"The players are trying so hard to get their first win that it’s affecting the performances.

“They’ve got to relax, it’s a long season, nothing’s done now. There’s plenty of time.

“We’re not a million miles away. There’s a couple of things that need to be tweaked but the base is there.”

Beckingham hopes to welcome back striker Ade Yusuff for the trip to Lewes but Lee Radford is struggling after picking up a knock in the FA Cup loss to Walton Casuals.

A red card at the start of the second half effectively ended Chatham’s hopes of progressing when Aaron Rhule, cautioned late in the first half, picked up a second yellow within 60 seconds of the restart.

“It was disappointing to put it mildly,” said Beckingham. “They had the better of the first half so we changed a couple of things around but everything went out the window when Aaron got sent off.

“Having said that, the 10 men that were left performed well. We passed the ball better with 10 men than we did with 11. But realistically, you’re going to struggle to create many chances with 10 against 11."