‘We just gave up, threw in the towel’ – Littlehampton Town boss fumes after defeat to Chichester City

And he has warned he will not tolerate it happening again – as he considers boosting the squad with players with the character and heart he says they will need if they’re to avoid relegation from the Isthmian south east division.

The 3-0 loss to Chichester – was the latest in a series of poor recent results. The Gold have lost 6-0 at home to Sheppey and 5-0 at home to Cray Valley in the past month – but have also shown what they’re capable of on occasions, like the 6-1 win at Beckenham on Saturday.

Hand told us: “Form in general is an issue be it home or away, we’ve just not been good enough.

"The Chichester game for me was the worst one – 2-0 down at home in a local derby and we just gave up, threw in the towel.

"I’ve played in Littlehampton sides with a fraction of the ability of this team but I’ve never seen a side give up like that when the game’s still there to be won.

"Our problem is inconsistency: we put in our best performance of the season Saturday and followed it with our worst two days later.

"Staying up is all that matters – we can’t look any further then that, if you offered me 17th place now I’d snap your hand off to be honest.

"It’s going to be a real battle from now untill end of April to get points on the board and I hope the players never turn up to a game with the same attitude they did against Chichester ever again, because if they do the writing’s on the wall.

"We need to make changes, and add players with a bit of heart and character very very soon.”