Sheppey United assistant boss Geoff Record knows they need to rectify their defensive issues if they want to turn their form around.

The Ites suffered a 3-2 defeat at Margate on Saturday and are on a run of five straight defeats, conceding 11 goals in the process.

Record said: “The bottom line is until we can find a way of not giving some very sloppy goals away, it is hard to win a game of football.

“We conceded three goals on Saturday, one from free play but the other two were set-pieces. We’ve had two or three games like that out of the last five where we have let goals in from set-pieces, where we haven’t got it away properly, and that’s a collective thing. It has been frustrating.”

Sheppey started well enough against Margate but conceding off the set-pieces led them to defeat at Hartsdown Park.

The Sheppey assistant boss said: “It was always going to be hard there, they have retained a number of players from their National League days, they have a lot of good players but for the first 35 minutes we dominated.

“We could have had a couple of goals during that period and then against the run of play we made a defensive error where they got around the back, got a cross into the far post and scored with a nice header in the back of our net.

“It was a tough one to take and despite playing well we went in 1-0 down at the break. We restarted the second half and equalised after a lovely move down the right side. Gil (Carvalho) clipped it towards the goal, it hit the inside of the post and just went over the line.

“There was some dispute over it but the linesman gave a goal straight away. The keeper definitely pulled it back into his chest once he caught it. The angle I had I couldn’t see but we got back into it at 1-1.

“They got on top of us a bit and we were still looking alright and then within a 10-minute period they have done us on two set-pieces, one was a corner where we didn’t clear it properly and the other came from a long throw into the box. It wasn’t cleared properly and from 15 yards out one of their lads drilled it in.

“We recovered and played reasonably well in the next 15, it was a bit end to end, young Jimmy Heasman came on and did very well, the keeper saved a 1-1 and from the resulting corner he headed it in for 3-2.”

Sheppey came close to making it 3-3 but Carvalho was flagged offside after what was a promising move.

Record said: “A bit like the Ramsgate game, where we lost by the odd goal, we played pretty well but all the time we’re being leaky and conceding goals then we need to sort it out, it’s too hard to win a game when we’re needing two or three goals to win it.”

While the Ites have been conceding, Leyton Orient’s 17-year-old defender has impressed on his short spell on loan.

Record said: “I was pleased with Aaron Archibald again. He’s had three games for us and two of those games he has been up against ex National League players! He has done really well.”

The Ites host Herne Bay this Saturday - Record’s old team - hoping to turn their losing run of form around, one that fans haven’t been accustomed to in recent years.

Record said: “Because of the success we have had and the teams we’ve had over the last few years, supporters aren’t used to the run we’re on.

“You get into the habit of winning but you can also get on a roll of defeats and it can knock the confidence. It is hard to get out of it.

“With the group we’ve got it will be a new experience for them but they have to get their heads down, get on with it and try and come up with a win on Saturday.

“The club isn’t used to it but this is a competitive league, we’ve no divine right to win.

“We just need to address those goals going in. Even if we conceded just one goal we have a chance but all the time we’ve conceding twos and threes it’s tough. You can’t win games like that.”