Craig Boyne admits Canterbury are a work in progress but says they need to improve quickly if they are to climb away from the foot of the Men’s Hockey League.

The city club are bottom of the Premier Division after starting the campaign with four successive defeats.

The latest came on Sunday at Hampstead and Westminster where they were beaten 7-0 after conceding five times in the opening 34 minutes.

Player-coach Boyne admitted the margin of defeat was hard to take but he remains confident his new-look squad can pull things round.

Boyne, whose side have let in 22 goals already, said: “Hampstead are a top side with quality players and it was always going to be hard for us. That said, no one likes to lose a game by that margin.

“We’re a completely different side in terms of personnel compared to last season and on Sunday we tried something different to see if we could shore up our defence.

“It didn’t work so we reverted to a more familiar structure in the second half and only conceded two goals which was an improvement.

“We’re trying to change things and people are still getting used to it. We’re a work in progress but the next two games (East Grinstead away and Sevenoaks at home) could be pivotal to our season.

“The fact there are 10 teams (in the division) means you only have 18 games.You don’t get too many opportunities to take points off the better teams so you have to try to make sure you beat the teams in and around you.

“It’s been a frustrating start, there’s no shying away from that but you can use it as a motivation.”