Boss Andy Hessenthaler accepts he has to take criticism on the chin after Dover’s recent poor form continued on Tuesday with a derby defeat to Dartford.

Whites have lost five of their past six matches, having fallen to a 3-1 home loss, despite Dover midfielder Luke Baptiste’s second goal this season.

Dover’s players were booed off at the final whistle, with the result putting Hessenthaler under more pressure.

But he said: “Listen, I have been there and I have got the T-shirt. We have all been there as managers.

“I have had good times here, I have had good times at other clubs, but we are having a rough time. I have to take that [criticism] - I’m the manager.

“Listen, I’m under contract. The chairman [Jim Parmenter] spoke to me after the game and said we should have been four or five up inside the first 30 minutes.

“He said ‘Just keep fighting, keep working and we’ll turn a corner’ and that’s all I’ll do.”

• Report: Dover 1-3 Dartford

Whites had made an encouraging start against Dartford but they rapidly lost their way once they conceded first and found themselves 3-0 down before Baptiste netted what proved a consolation effort.

Hessenthaler reflected: “We were the better team for that [opening] period but, unfortunately, our Achilles heel costs us. We have conceded, it’s a good goal to be fair to the lad [Samir Carruthers].

“It’s a good finish but we can’t let him come inside. We have seen him score a goal like that this season when we did our homework in the week. That deflates us and that’s the problem for us as a team at the moment.

“We concede a goal and, instead of digging in and continuing doing what we were doing the previous 25 minutes, we go and give another one away. It’s an unbelievable finish but it could have been avoided.

“Myles Judd has held his hands up, he could have got across quicker, and unfortunately for Nels [keeper Stuart Nelson], he's in a position where he’s given him a chance to lob him.

“But you have to give the lad a bit of credit for the second one, as well, it’s a great goal.”

Things don’t get any easier for Dover who play early National League South leaders Ebbsfleet at Stonebridge Road in the FA Cup this Saturday having already lost 3-0 there this season.

“I have just said to the boys in there, we have got to keep our heads up - keep working, keep believing and keep listening to each other in the dressing room and keep fighting,” Hessenthaler said.

“We are having a tough time at the moment but you have to take it on the chin to win football matches. You have to take the criticism, that’s part of it.

"Like anything, you have to take the rough with the smooth. We have all had good times and, at the moment, this is a bad time.

“But we are eight games in and six points off the play-offs, you can look at it that way. Bristol Rovers were near the bottom of the league last Christmas so there’s still a long way to go.

“But we are disappointed because, other than the Havant game, we have been in most of the games.

"Our Achilles heel has been conceding goals.”