Manager Marcel Nimani wants Whitstable’s players to work on their emotional management in games.

They were beaten 4-0 at home by third-placed Erith Town on Saturday in the Southern Counties East Premier Division on an afternoon to forget.

To make matters worse for Nimani, whose side have dropped to ninth in the league, Josh Oliver was also sent off.

“It was a very disappointing performance,” said Nimani.

“We started well and had a fantastic opportunity on Saturday to score before they did.

“As we are going along, we are identifying issues. Our biggest challenge at the moment is emotional management.

"The moment we concede a goal, the tactical management goes out of the window.

“Against Rusthall, we conceded two goals in 10 minutes and, on Saturday, we conceded three in around seven minutes. It’s difficult to recover from that.

“Emotional management is something we need to channel.”

Midfielder Oliver was dismissed for swearing at the referee. While Nimani had no issues with the decision itself, he felt similar offences were occurring throughout the game before the referee eventually took action.

He admitted: “It’s a stupid action from our player, although it was still quite a strange decision. I’m all for creating a gentleman’s culture so everyone comes along.

“My player has sworn at the referee and is sent off. But I don’t agree with other players doing it everywhere unpunished, it’s not consistent.

“At the moment, we’re the victims of it.”

Oliver’s red card was a second in as many league matches for Whitstable who also have defender Will Thomas in the middle of serving a three-game ban.

“In terms of results, absolutely, I would say we are looking so far behind. But I still think we are not as far away as the statistics are showing once we find a way of rectifying our discipline - that should be quite easy to address,” said Nimani.

“We have been in charge of seven games and we have won three, drawn one and lost three. But we have played some tough sides, it’s an average start.

“We have found issues we need to address. Lastly for us, it’s about discipline.

“It’s two league games in a row we have had two red cards with 30 minutes or more to play.

"That’s another area we need to work on.”

There’s a weekend away from competitive action coming up for Whitstable and, while it’s one Nimani would rather not have, it’s one he still intends to use wisely.

He said: “From our perspective, we would rather play. We want to get on with it.

“But every scenario presents an opportunity and we are looking to bring a couple of players in. Once we get into the opposition half, we need better quality.

"We are looking to address that.”

Since their 3G pitch went down at The Belmont, Whitstable have managed just one win this season - their three victories under the new management team coming away from home.

A crowd of 439 watched their defeat to Erith Town and Nimani admits it’s up to his management team to ensure the first-team represent the qualities being shown throughout the rest of the club.

Nimani said: “The support is incredible. The potential at Whitstable Town is incredible and the staff behind-the-scenes are superb.

“It’s all there. Good meals take time to cook, microwave meals are not as good, and this is a long-term project for us.”

They will host Division 1 Rochester in a friendly this Saturday and entry will be made by donation.

All proceedings will be split 50-50, with half going to the club and the rest to the All Wrapped Up Riverside initiative. Kick-off at 2pm.