Gracious Ramsgate boss Jamie Coyle says Chatham deserve to be Isthmian South East champions.

Chats clinched the title at the weekend, leaving Rams to fight it out with Whitehawk for second place, the sides having drawn 1-1 at Southwood on Saturday.

Rams led the table for much of the season but have been overhauled by a relentless Chatham side in recent weeks.

Six straight wins, including a 2-0 success over Ramsgate last week, propelled them to the championship, while Coyle’s side have paid the price for too many draws.

The Chatham game is Rams’ only defeat in 14 league matches since Coyle succeeded Steve Lovell in January but they’ve won just five.

“Congratulations to Chatham - they deserve to win the league,” said Coyle, whose side finish the regular season at Ashford this Saturday (3pm).

“They were better than us last week and over the course of the season they’ve been the best team.

“We’ve had too many draws. Everyone talks about one defeat in 14 but the draws have been an issue. You’re better off winning two and losing one than getting three draws. It’s been our Achilles heel.

“If we could have turned even two or three of those draws into wins, you give yourselves a real opportunity but it wasn’t to be.

“It’s frustrating but I can’t really ask any more of the players.

“They’ve been running through brick walls for me, the management team and the club.

“If we continue to work like that and we get a bit of luck, it can still be a really successful season.”

With the title out of their hands, Ramsgate knew victory over Whitehawk would guarantee second place and home advantage through the play-offs.

Leading at the break through Tom Carlse, Ashley Miller missed a second-half penalty and the visitors levelled through Rob O’Toole to stay a point behind Rams.

Coyle said: “That game, and the Beckenham game (1-1 draw on Easter Saturday), really summarise the way things have gone for us recently.

“We’ve hit the bar three times against Whitehawk and had a penalty saved, and we dominated against Beckenham, but both games the opposition keeper has been man-of-the-match.”

Ramsgate, beaten 3-1 at Thanet rivals Margate in the Kent Senior Cup semi-finals on Tuesday night, are desperate to finish runners-up after missing out on the title.

A win at Ashford would ensure that, while Whitehawk finish at home to relegated Corinthian.

“We’re desperate to try and get second place and a home semi-final and final in the play-offs,” said Coyle.

“We’ve been good at home and if we could play in front of our own fans, on our pitch, it would be a big advantage.

“It’s disappointing to miss out on the title but it can still be a successful season if we come second and win the play-offs.

“If we do that, and get promotion, we’ve still achieved what we set out to do at the start of the season.”

The semi-finals take place on Tuesday (7.45pm). Rams will be at home if they finish second or third but could still end up fourth if they lose to Ashford and Beckenham win at Burgess Hill.

An early red card for Kane Rowland left Ramsgate up against it in their Kent Senior Cup semi-final at Margate.

The hosts opened up a 3-0 lead through Ben Greenhalgh, Yaser Kasim and Harvey Smith, with TJ Jadama scoring a late consolation in front of almost 1,500 fans at Hartsdown Park.