Ramsgate assistant manager Danny Ward admits the club have already begun preparing for life in Ryman League Division 1 South next season.

Ward conceded Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat by Hastings has left Rams needing a miracle to avoid Premier Division relegation and the immediate consequence is that Ryan Royston and Jay May have left the club this week.

Ward said: “We won’t give up the ghost until it’s mathematically impossible but it’s going to need a Harry Houdini act for us to stay up.”

The Hastings defeat, thanks to a second-half penalty, rounded off a miserable week for Ward which also saw the Rams knocked out of the Kent Senior Cup semi-finals by Welling United and, more crucially, deducted four league points for playing too many loan players at at the same time.

Ramsgate travel to Tooting & Mitcham on Saturday with Ward admitting victories in their last six matches may still not be enough to keep the Rams up.