Hythe Town face all of the teams at the bottom end of Isthmian South East and head to Whitstable for the first of several relegation scraps.

Player-boss James Rogers hopes he can bring in a striker before the weekend to help make sure they don’t get sucked into the bottom three.

Rogers’ team suffered another narrow defeat against a top team on Saturday, losing 1-0 to Haywards Heath. That followed a 2-1 loss at home to Ashford United the week before, another team fighting at the top end.

Bottom end scuffles are now on the agenda.

“It’s a six-pointer isn’t it?” said Rogers on this Saturday’s game. “There is no way you can play it down.

“For me, it is a game they can’t lose, but that’s the same for us, because I don’t want to be dragged into those bottom three places.”

Whitstable are currently bottom of the table and will see this as a chance of climbing towards safety.

“It is a huge game,” Rogers added. “We are at their place, probably going to be expecting quite a big crowd with what is at stake. They will be up for it and I know a few of their lads. We have taken Ollie Gray from them in the last few weeks and he has done well.

“It is going to be a bit of a battle and the minimum I am expecting from our team is to put a shift in and the quality of player we have got, like Tyler Sterling and Luca Woodhouse, they are match winners on their day. I am hoping our boys turn up and realise what is on the line for Hythe and we will make sure they know what is at stake.”

Rogers put in a seven-day approach for a striker before the weekend and was hoping to talk with him this week, with a view to signing before Saturday.

He said: “I am hoping that will come off and if it does that will strengthen us massively because we normally create a lot of chances, we just don’t seem to be taking them, and I am hoping that a little bit of a focal point will help us.”

It was a frustrating weekend last Saturday, losing a scrappy game against Haywards Heath.

Rogers said: “It was a poor game really, even from our perspective, both teams never really created many chances and we have scored the own goal.

“There is not much in it and I was really frustrated in the changing rooms afterwards, a few words were said, it is not that people aren’t running, it is not about commitment or effort, it is just the frustration of knowing that we are that close to beating these teams and we can’t seem to get over the line at the moment.

“We have to stay positive, we have seven winnable games now against teams in and around us and that is a plus for us, but the teams around us are scrapping to stay in the league the same as we are. There is not a lot in these games, it is fine margins and at the moment it is not dropping for us.”