Steve Watt says Margate have not become a bad side overnight but admits they have lost the edge which had made them so difficult to beat earlier in the season.

Before the 4-3 home defeat to Wingate & Finchley on December 23, the Blues had gone nine games unbeaten in the Bostik Premier.

That defeat was followed by a 4-2 loss at Dorking Wanderers on Boxing Day and on New Year’s Day Watt’s side went down 3-1 to Folkestone Invicta at Hartsdown Park after Jordan Chiedozie’s 18th goal of the season had put them ahead.

Goals from Scott Heard and Kieron McCann had Invicta ahead at the break before Micheal Everitt’s early second-half header sealed a third straight win for the visitors.

Boss Watt admits the continued absence of keeper Lenny Pidgeley, plus full-backs Chris Sessegnon and Tom Mills, has been a factor in the Gate’s poor run but admits the whole team need to defend better.

He added: “There’s just a bit of a softness to us at the moment which is something I need to address.

“We’re getting punished for poor goals and poor decision making in our backline, which is something we’d been good at earlier in the season.

“We need to defend better as a team, we’ve always been a difficult team to play against but I’ve just posed the question to the guys.

"Are you giving and are you demanding what you were 10 games ago, because it doesn’t look like that from the side?

“It’s disappointing but we’ve just got to get back to what we were doing. You don’t go from the run of games we were on and how good we were, to where we are now because you’re a bad team but there’s stuff going on which shouldn’t and we need to get it sorted. We’re still a good side, we just need to start showing it.”

Ninth-placed Gate travel to title favourites Billericay on Saturday before hosting Needham Market on Tuesday, January 9, in the first of five successive home matches.

Pidgeley remains on compassionate leave while Sessegnon and Mills look like being out for the foreseeable future with their knee injuries.

Watt did give a debut to former Leatherhead midfielder Sam Blackman who signed ahead of the postponed game at Leiston on Saturday.

But defender Rian McLean, signed on a work experience loan deal from Leyton Orient, injured his medial collateral ligament in training with the National League club after the deal had been completed and now faces a long lay-off.

Watt added: “We’re not having much luck at the moment but I’ve never been one to hide behind excuses, it’s hard work that will get us out of this.”