Manager Mark Stimson wants Margate to display more creativity in the final third as they aim to end their winless run.

Strugglers Gate are now without a victory in 15 matches after their 2-0 Isthmian Premier home defeat to Bognor last weekend.

Banned playmaker Ben Greenhalgh and sidelined skipper Sam Blackman (calf) have proved costly absentees in recent games.

“It’s very frustrating,” said Stimson, of Margate’s wait to taste success again. “There’s been times in certain games where we think we’re going to get the win.

“All we can do is dust ourselves down and go into the next game, thinking we can win.

“But you need to be good in both boxes to do that and, for me, the hardest thing is the creative side of the game. We all want to win and it’s been a long wait.

“Obviously, I have been in charge of seven games and someone has told me it was eight games before that. We just need to keep going.

“We haven’t been able to make many additions. We’re waiting on answers this week from two or three we’re speaking to.

“Sam is probably 50-50 for the weekend and Ben has got one game left of his suspension. Fingers crossed, this time next week we will have them back.”

Margate sit narrowly above the relegation zone, despite having played more league fixtures than three of the four sides below them this term.

“I will not look at the league until 10 games - but then, you need to look at who you’re around and who is playing who,” Stimson stated.

“We managed to get games on over Christmas, like the Cray one on astroturf and some at home. We are where we are.

“We don’t want to be where we are - we’re not looking at that with any joy at all. We want to change things and climb up the table.”

Bognor drew first blood at Hartsdown Park through young forward Tommy-Lee Higgs on 64 minutes and striker Dan Gifford added a second 10 minutes later.

Stimson reflected: “The first half was very close. Both teams had a couple of opportunities and didn’t take them.

“We spoke about maybe improving in the final third at half-time and, unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Then, we conceded a really poor goal.

“I’ve not watched the video back yet but we gave the ball away in a bad area and they took the opportunity.

“We tried to change things, made a substitution and the second goal is something we had spoken about that Bognor were good at.

“You like to think you give the players all the information but they didn’t really take it on board.

“Vinnie (Bowman, a second-half substitute) had a late opportunity and it just went wide of the post. It was a disappointing result.”

Striker Obed Yeboah only made his Gate bow off the bench this month, joining on a dual-registration basis from Tonbridge.

But Yeboah, the nephew of Premier League icon Tony Yeboah, has swiftly left for Erith & Belvedere on a similar agreement.

Gate visit Lewes - thumped 5-0 at Billericay last weekend - this Saturday.

Stimson said: “They’re a good side. They have made changes to their squad this year and play a certain way.

“They have been together a long time as a management team and play nice football.

“They just took a battering at Billericay. They will probably want to dish one out and you can easily be on the receiving end of it against Lewes.

“If you do things right, you can get a result there.”

Margate visit Hastings on Tuesday when Greenhalgh is expected to return.