Whitstable boss Marc Seager admitted he was proud of his players despite suffering his heaviest defeat in charge during the Kent Senior Cup final.

The Oystermen found the gap to Blue Square South Welling too big on the night and, despite a bright opening, ended up losing 6-1.

But Seager was still full of praise for their efforts, on the night and in reaching the final.

“I’m so proud of the lads,” he beamed. “It’s great for the club, a massive achievement to get to this final and who would have thought a Ryman League Division 1 South side would get this far.

“I don’t think we deserved 6-1. If everyone took their chances it was probably 9-5.

I wanted our lads to put on a performance and if I’m totally honest I don’t think we did that because we can play a bit better than that. But full credit to Welling, they were up for the game and did a professional job.

“It’s been a great ride; we’ve beaten Tonbridge, Ebbsfleet and Bromley and then lost to Welling in a final – that’s nothing to be disappointed about. I’m a little bit disappointed because it’s my heaviest defeat as a manager but records are there to be beaten.

“When you lose to a side like Welling, then you can take a bit of heart from it but my players were fantastic.”

Seager was also full of praise for their travelling supporters, who remained in good heart throughout the evening.

He added: “I can’t say enough words about them. Even in the warm-up you could hear them, they were fantastic and they deserve a massive pat on the back. I was very grateful for them to turn out in such numbers, make such noise and still get behind the lads even though it was 6-1.”