A week can be a long time in football - just ask Whitstable player-manager Jamie Coyle!

The play-off chasing Southern Counties East League Premier Division side are on a 13-match unbeaten run. A stoppage-time winning goal earned a dramatic 2-1 victory over Lordswood on Tuesday while Finn O’Mara’s late leveller rescued a 1-1 draw at Snodland last weekend.

But with Whitstable still competing on three fronts, their squad has been hit massively, particularly defensively, in their past three matches.

Captain Jake McIntyre and centre-half Will Thomas are serving four-game and three-game suspensions, respectively, after they were sent off in last midweek’s 2-0 victory at leaders VCD.

Jayden Boulton (concussion) has also been out since that game.

Coyle, 41, said: “Jayden’s out for 19 days.

"With Macca and Will Thomas suspended as well, I’ve gone from being able to rotate the team and make changes to being down to bare bones.

“That’s why we have got three possible new signings coming to training on Thursday night.

“We could have done with Robbie Rees in midfield on Tuesday. His decision-making is brilliant - but we had to put him at left-back - so we’ll have to bring a left-back in.

“We need a centre-half, as well, because I cannot play three games in seven days at my age.

"But we’re excited about the players that are coming in.”

Tempting players to join Whitstable, who have made the FA Vase semi-final and also will be involved in next month’s Kent Senior Trophy final, is a pretty straightforward task.

“That’s a positive,” Coyle admitted. “If we were mid-table and didn’t have anything to play for, it becomes much tougher.

“We’re hoping the success and the limelight the club has had on it will help us in the close season and in the future, as well. We have still got a long way to go before we win any silverware.

“But we have got players showing an interest in joining us that we would have struggled to get earlier in the season.”

Coyle felt the sixth-placed Oystermen were a long way off their best against Lordswood, despite picking up another vital three points.

But he said: “It’s getting to that stage of the season where performances are kind of a by-product.

“We just need to get as many three points on the board as possible.

“Rusthall dropped points on Tuesday, as well, which was a positive.

“But I actually went around the changing room after the game and asked for an honest assessment of the performance from everyone because a lot of people were four or fives out of 10.

“You can look at that two ways. We know we have got to be better, but there’s a lot of tired bodies out there and we have still ground a result out.”

Young midfielder Fin Cotton netted the winner - his first this season - in injury time after Lords’ Callum Peck cancelled out Nathan Jeche’s first-half strike.

“Fin has come fresh out of Millwall’s Academy,” said Coyle. “It’s his first season in non-league football. There’s some challenges that I’ve set him.

“He has played a lot of games this season, and his goals and assists needs to be a lot higher if he wants to go through the leagues. His work-rate is outstanding and he’s been a real catalyst to what we do.

“But if he wants to go through the leagues as an attacking mid-fielder, ideally with us, he needs more goals and assists. But his work ethic and his attitude to learning has been a breath of fresh air.

“Sometimes, these young players just need to get that first goal and then, all of a sudden, a few more goals and assists start to come.”

For young forward Jeche, his fine start to life with the club continues.

Coyle said: “He’s got three in four games.

“He could have had a hat-trick on Saturday and apologised to the boys after the game. But he scored a brilliant goal on Tuesday and offers us something different with his pace.

“We have got some games coming up on some horrendous pitches so he’ll have to adapt.

"But he’s got a great attitude.”

Next up is this weekend’s journey to Erith & Belvedere. The Deres are eyeing a top-five finish, sitting just five points behind Whitstable, having played two fixtures more.

“That’s why every game is so important,” said Coyle. “We cannot afford to drop too many points if we’re going to get into the play-offs.

“We have still got Punjab, who are in the play-off places, and Rusthall, who are in the play-off places, to play. Then, there’s the teams that are in and around us.

“The preparations are exactly the same because, with every single game, we’re treating it like a cup final.

“The positive thing is the players’ application has been there and that’s why we’re on this unbeaten run. But that has got to continue.

“The level of performance cannot be where it was on Tuesday, moving forward, otherwise we’ll come unstuck.”

Whitstable welcome mid-table Holmesdale to The Belmont on Tuesday.