Abdul Osman believes Sittingbourne are easily good enough to finish in the Isthmian South East top five this season.

The Brickies have dropped from second to 11th on the back of three successive defeats.

It’s been a frustrating few weeks for Nick Davis’ side, who lost 3-1 at home to Ashford on Saturday.

The talent is there, with the squad boosted by the arrival of winger Youssef Bamba from VCD, but consistency is lacking.

“We’ve kind of hit a bad patch, we just need to get out of it,” said ex-Northampton midfielder Osman.

“The whole place was buzzing after we went second.

“We felt optimistic and confident about the games coming up and then we have three defeats in a row.

“I didn’t see that coming but football’s so weird these days.

“We’re a new squad this season, and it takes time to get that consistency.

“Other teams have been together a long time but we’re easily good enough to be up there.

“When we gel I think we can make the top five or six.

“We should do, anyway, with the players we’ve got, but it’s clicking, getting that consistency and moving forward.

“We’ve got better individuals than most teams in this league but it is a team game.

“To be honest, my own form has been stop-start.

“There’s games where I feel I’ve done OK and games where I feel I could have done more.

“As an individual, I look at myself but, as a team, you need at least seven or eight playing well to win games.

“In football, you have to be positive, you can’t dwell on negatives because, at the end of the day, there are so many games to play.

“With my experience, I need to be positive and hopefully the boys are positive.”

Sittingbourne’s patchy home form continued against high-flying Ashford.

Donvieve Jones pulled a goal back after George Nikaj’s early double but ex-Brickie Gil Carvalho added the visitors’ third.

There was a debut for Bamba, a player who flourished under Davis at VCD last season.

He’d been a long-time target for the Brickies boss, who finally got his man last week.

Osman is excited to see what Bamba offers.

“He looks a decent enough player,” said Osman.

“Obviously I’ve not seen enough of him, but we’ll see in the next three or four games how he fares.

“Apparently he has a decent track record at these levels, so I’m hoping he’ll be good for us.

“Any player who comes in that can help us, I fully welcome.”

Sittingbourne, who visit Chichester this Saturday (3pm), have said goodbye to Jason Banton. The forward has moved up a league to join Isthmian Premier Herne Bay.

Osman, who’s good friends with Banton, said: “These things happen in football. It didn’t work out for him here.”