Littlehampton Town vow to get over their ‘rut’ – and enjoy a free hit against Brighton and Hove Albion

A run of four defeats in five Isthmian south east defeats has seen Mitch Hand and George Gaskin’s team fall to 11th and off the pace in the race for play-off places.

The latest setback was a 4-1 home loss to Hythe last Saturday, which came after Dion Jarvis’ goal had given them an interval lead.

Off the field, at least, the club have won a battle – they were successful in their appeal over a Sussex FA move to make them play their Sussex Senior Cup quarter-final with Brighton U23s on Thursday night. Instead the game has reverted back to tonight.

Joint boss Hand said the team were determined to get league results back on track..

He told us: “It’s been a really disappointing few weeks in terms of results and performances. We’ve had a good chat and the boys know that currently we’re not giving a fair representation of ourselves.

"We’re in a rut but we’re going to come out the other side – I’m going to make sure of that. We will fight and scrap for every point from now until the end of the season and make sure we finish the season as strong as we possibly can."

Speaking ahead of the cup tie with Brighton U23s, Hand added: “The Brighton game is a welcome break from the league. It’s a complete free hit for us and it’s a game we’re all looking forward to.”

See Jack Bacon’s report on the Golds-Brighton match on this website tomorrow