Whitstable manager Will Graham says the Oystermen could count themselves unlucky to come away with nothing from Tuesday’s derby with Folkestone.

The new Town boss saw his side suffer a second defeat to begin his reign after a 1-0 defeat at the Belmont, but afterwards claimed there were plenty of positives to take from a spirited game against a side tipped for the title.

Graham said: “After Saturday’s poor result (a 4-1 defeat at Walton & Hersham) I demanded it had to be better. I made some changes, brought people back in, I had Scott Heard avalable.

“Folkestone were a good team to play against because we had to raise our game to play against them. Neil Cugley’s the best manager in the league by a mile, he’s got some fantastic players, they are my tip for promotion this year. We knew what we were up against.

“I told the players I wanted a reaction and a better performance and credit to the boys, I think the performance was there and I thought we were unlucky not to nick it.

“We had four big chances in the last 20 minutes that could have got us a win. We are disappointed we haven’t taken at least a point. Maybe that’s our luck at the moment.”

Graham said Ian Draycott’s early winner was ‘a poor goal to give away’ from Town’s point of view, adding: “You go 1-0 down against Folkestone in the first 10 minutes and everyone starts thinking ‘Oh God, it’s going to be a cricket score.’

“But to be fair the boys’ character shone through, we didn’t stop trying to play. We are disappointed we didn’t get at least a couple of goals out of it. We can take a lot of positives out of it.”

Town are back in action when Carshalton visit the Belmont on Saturday (3pm).