Manager Ben Smith refused to use the changes he made to Ramsgate’s side as an excuse for their FA Trophy defeat at home to Cray Valley PM on Saturday.

Smith made four switches from the team which had been beaten 4-1 at National League North Brackley Town in the FA Cup seven days earlier for their third qualifying round FA Trophy tie at Southwood, including leaving midfielder TJ Jadama out of the squad entirely after a bout of illness.

But those who came in didn’t make much of an impact as the well below-par Isthmian South East Rams went down 3-1 to the newly-promoted Isthmian Premier outfit despite a 14th goal of the season for captain Joe Taylor.

On what Ramsgate had been trying to get out of the FA Trophy this term, Smith said: “Just to get minutes under everyone’s belts.

“It was a similar rotation to what we have done in all the games, really. We left TJ out the squad today and, with a couple of the lads that started last week, they didn’t start.

“It was just about getting minutes under belts, which we did.

“But that’s no excuse. We weren’t good enough in certain phases of the game today.”

Report: Ramsgate 1-3 Cray Valley PM

Cray Valley’s first two goals came after they made the most of poor passes by midfielder Medy Elito and left-back Tom Carlse.

Smith, whose troops trailed from the 14th minute, said: “They didn’t have to do a lot to exploit it, did they? I thought we started really well.

“They couldn’t quite get to grips with the way we were playing out - but then, you gift them that and, as the game wore on, they pressed really well. We didn’t find solutions to that.

“The quote is ‘insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’, and that’s pretty much what we witnessed.

“It’s a tough one. But I’m certainly not going to hound the two players (Elito and Carlse) that made mistakes because, with the way that we play, you’re going to make mistakes.

“We will have a lot more good days with the way that we play, it’s just a bit disappointing because it just gives you a mountain to climb.

“Against good opposition and being 3-0 down, you’re not likely to go and get four goals.”

The Rams’ focus switches to league matters as they begin a busy run of games at home to Sheppey next weekend, with both sides having perfect Isthmian South East records.

“Everyone has had a chance,” stated Smith. “No one in my dressing room can say that, over the first two months of the season, they haven’t had an opportunity.

“Now, it’s a case of really assessing who’s really grasped that opportunity and who’s maybe not going to take that opportunity, moving forward. It’s probably a natural point to have a look at the squad.

“We now go into a run where we play Saturday-to-Tuesday-to-Saturday from now until mid-November.

“We’ll need a squad of players. That was always our thinking in these cup games. Even in the FA Cup, we rotated at times.

“It was ‘How can we get everyone into a position where they’re fit and know our system?’ - although it didn’t look like it today! That’s always been the case.

“As disappointing as this is now, I need to remember that and the players need to remember that.

“We need to move on.”