Manager Ira Jackson had no complaints after back-to-back defeats for Hythe Town over the weekend.

The Cannons lost top spot in the Southern Counties East Premier Division after going down 3-1 at Erith & Belvedere on Saturday.

Tunmise Akanni gave them the lead but the Deres hit back to end the visitors’ unbeaten start to the season.

Hythe then lost 2-0 at home to Kennington on Bank Holiday Monday, the team who replaced them at the summit.

Jackson, whose side visit Faversham Strike Force this Saturday (3pm), was gracious in defeat.

“It’s part of the process,” he said.

“We are three years behind other teams, because we had to start from scratch, and with that there’s going to be teething issues.

“You can’t expect to win every game in this league.

“We did say that and now it’s been proven.

“This is the league we’re in - tough opposition every single week, which means we have to be at it every single week.

“I can’t say against Erith or against Kennington that we were the better team or we were hard done by, we just weren’t up to the challenge that was presented to us and we got beaten by the better side in both games.

“It’s our job to prove in the next game that we can be the better side and win the game.

“I’m never going to lie after a game.

“If we were the better team, we were the better team.

“But, usually, if you were the better team, you win.

“I don’t think football has favourites, I don’t think the odds were in Kennington’s favour or anything like that.

“Ultimately, it’s 11 v 11 and on the day, Kennington’s 11 were better than our 11, so they deserved all three points.

“If we were doing well and our team deserved the three points, we would have got them.

“That’s something our players have to learn, that you have to deserve three points.

“You don’t get things handed to you in this game and I’m so glad that we’re learning that early on.

“It’s good to learn these lessons now.

“I’m glad the cracks that were there and we got away with in other games, we’re actually getting exposed for them because it shows the boys what you have to do.”

Hythe have dropped to sixth after successive defeats, while opponents Strike Force are fifth.

Jackson added: “It’s a great challenge and a great game for us to go into after two defeats because we have to do better and if we don’t, we’ll get punished again.

“There’s no better way to come out of a disappointment than a hard-fought performance and a hard-fought victory.

“We need to do better and I need to do better.

“I hold my hands up, I’m the one who signed these players, so if a player isn’t delivering, as much as a player is responsible, I also am because I’m the one who signed them.

“I have a responsibility as the manager to be better, and I will be.

“Anyone who knew me when I was a player knows I don’t rest until I’m the best.

“That’s not changed, and it won’t, and the boys will learn that very quickly.

“We’ll come up short sometimes but it’s about our response.

“There are some areas of fragility but we are very early into a project so we should expect this, maybe not in the manner we lost the games, but we should expect ups and downs because that’s what happens to everybody.”