Manager Marcel Nimani thinks Whitstable’s focus in the first half of the season is to simply remain in the Southern Counties East Premier Division promotion picture.

The Oystermen have been dealt successive setbacks, being held to a 3-3 draw at home to Lordswood on Tuesday after last weekend’s 2-0 loss at Glebe.

But, with play-offs introduced at Step 5 for the first time this season, Nimani knows little is likely to be decided at this early stage as his new-look squad continues to gel.

He said: “Play-off spots are not gained, or lost, in the first month or two months of the season.

“I think our objective now and all the way up to Christmas is to keep reforming ourselves. We still have a lot of new players settling in.

“In that starting XI alone [against Lordswood], we had five new players so we’re still settling in.

“Our aim is to stick around with the pack until after Christmas. Then, we will be settled and aim to peak at the right time.

“That’s our objective. It’s all about building momentum at the right time.

“We feel our target is January-time to start building momentum.”

Nimani’s team had appeared on course to bounce back from the Glebe defeat in midweek after goals from Josh Williams, the returning Rodney Eruotor and striker Steadman Callender put them 3-1 ahead, only for the visitors to score twice in the last 15 minutes.

Whitstable’s boss reflected: “Away at Glebe, I felt that we weren’t as productive as we normally are.

“Although we produced a few chances, we didn’t produce the vast amount of chances that we normally produce in games. So, we left Glebe quite deflated and quite disappointed in terms of our productivity.

“On the flip side, I felt Glebe were well organised, they had a good side, and they seemed to be really eager and up for the game.

“We left Glebe deflated and Glebe fully deserved their win.

“Moving into Tuesday’s game, the objective was very clear. We had to be a lot more productive in possession. So in terms of the main objective, we were extremely productive against Lordswood.

“Our downfall was, despite scoring three goals, we missed so many chances in areas we would normally score.

“Being 3-1 up, it was disappointing that we didn’t manage the game better.”

Harry Brooks played in goal against Lordswood, with Dan Eason unavailable.

But Nimani refused to give much of the blame to him for the goals they conceded.

He said: “Harry Brooks did well.

“It was more the case, as a team, we didn’t manage it like we normally do. When we take the lead, we’re normally very good at keeping leads.

“But unfortunately, we didn’t manage to do that. We had too many players in the attacking phases and the transition became our weakness.”

Whitstable were dealt a blow with one of their summer signings coming off.

“Unfortunately, Tyler Anderson picked up an injury,” Nimani explained. “He had to come off, he’d rolled his ankle.

“I don’t know how serious that is but I guess we will have to assess that.”

The Oystermen visit division rivals VCD in the FA Cup Preliminary Round this Saturday. After suffering relegation last term, they’ve only taken three points from as many games.

“They’re a very tough opponent,” said Nimani, on the challenge of facing VCD.

“They won away in the FA Cup and they went away to Deal and won, which not many teams do, so they have got a high potential and a high ceiling.

“It’s just a matter of us, on the day, not letting them reach that ceiling.

“If we allow them to reach that ceiling, they turn into a side that can beat anybody.”

Eason is expected to return in goal for the tie, with the winning team collecting £1,444.