Ernie Batten is trying to strengthen his depleted Sheppey squad - but he won’t break the bank chasing a play-off place.

The injury-hit Ites have slipped to seventh in Isthmian South after four successive defeats.

Manager Batten wants to challenge for a top-five finish but is conscious of keeping the club on a sound financial footing.

So while reinforcements are needed in light of a lengthy injury list, they won’t throw silly money around just to try and make the play-offs.

“I’m trying to get players in but it’s very difficult at this stage of the season,” said Batten, whose side host Hythe on New Year’s Day (3pm), having lost 3-2 to Three Bridges on Saturday.

“You’ve got to get the right characters, the right quality, at the right price.

“As a football club we’d like to be involved in the play-offs because I think Sheppey have got the fanbase and the ability to go to the next level.

“Financially, it has to be right for us as well because when you talk about getting quality players in, the price goes up every week, so we’ve got to be mindful of that.

“We’ve got to be financially stable enough to excel at this level and when you go to the next level, it’s another financial commitment.

“To excel at this level you need a certain budget because the players that are going to take you to the next level are at a premium and if you look at the sides that are up there, Ramsgate and Sittingbourne, it bears that out.

“The sides that are spending, I think, the most money, if they’ve got a good management structure, invariably they’re around the top regions of the league.

“As a club we are looking to improve our financial well-being so we can consistently compete, and bearing in mind when you do go up you’ve got to maintain that and probably add to it a little bit as well.

“We’ve got to be satisfied with where we are.

“This is our third season at this level.

“We’ve had two seventh finishes and we’re presently seventh and I think that’s very good in a very competitive league.

“So if we can push on from that, I’m also interested in the well-being of the club and the structure of the club, the stadium and everything about the club.

“That’s in good shape and we want to keep that in good shape.

“People keep telling me, and I remember it very well, we used to have a team in Sheerness called Sheppey United, and they went broke and we had 17 or 18 years with no senior football club.

“Twelve years ago this was just a farmer’s cow patch out here with two Sunday League pitches on it.

“So to get to where we are and come up through the leagues and be disappointed that we’re only seventh, we shouldn’t be because everyone involved at Sheppey United - the volunteers, the committee - has done remarkably well. It’s been a fantastic effort to get where we are now.”

Sheppey are looking to start 2025 on a high after failing to win a league match during December.

Opponents Hythe - run by ex-Ites chairman Matt Smith - also need the points after slipping to second-bottom.

Batten said: “I’ve said to the lads you’ve got to keep going, you’ve got to get your heads up, we’ve got to keep working at it.

“As the saying goes, nothing good in life lasts forever but nothing bad in life lasts forever, so we’ve got to keep going and hopefully turn the corner in the next game.

“We’ll keep working away at it. We’ve just got to look to the next game now and hopefully we can win that.”

Sheppey visit AFC Croydon this Saturday (3pm).