Manager Jamie Coyle insists there is no panic as Margate look to quickly move on from last weekend’s horror show.

Gate, who headed into the match against Merstham on a five-match unbeaten streak, were brought back down to earth as they suffered a 5-0 defeat at Hartsdown Park.

It was a day to forget for Coyle and his charges, but the boss is keen to ensure the performance is a one-off.

They returned to winning ways in midweek with a 2-1 win at home to Sheppey United, with striker Stanley Oldfield and midfielder Bradley Schafer scoring.

Speaking before the Sheppey win, Coyle, who moved to Margate after a successful two seasons at Whitstable in the summer, said: “We have got lots of experience.

“We all understand as a management team what it takes to win. We were in a much worse situation at Whitstable where we had to build the whole squad.

“We have picked up some really good points so far this season but the level of performance needs to go up. There’s no panic stations whatsoever.

“Yes, it was a bad day at the office on Saturday but we know where we want to be as a squad. I’m speaking to a lot of managers from higher levels that are experiencing similar issues.

“We will make sure we’re in the right place, come the end of the season, but it’s a long old season.”

Gate’s Merstham mauling came just four days after they had played out a 2-2 draw against Isthmian South East frontrunners Hastings United, having earned a 3-1 victory at AFC Croydon Athletic the previous weekend.

Coyle said: “Saturday was our worst performance of the season.

“We’re really disappointed. It’s a tough one to take because you couldn’t see it coming. We were five unbeaten before that.

“We had beaten Croydon, who are one of the favourites to win the league, and got a good draw against Hastings. They’re absolutely flying.

“There was one change from that but our performance levels were nowhere near good enough. With the way the league is, you just need to show a bit of consistency and you will be there or thereabouts.

“It was pretty much the same team, the same system, the same tactics and the same preparation on Saturday. As a manager, it’s a bit of a whirlwind, thinking ‘Where has this level of performance come from?’.

“That’s not just on the players, all of us are accountable to it. We’re in this together.

"It’s important to bounce back.”

Margate found themselves 2-0 down against Merstham in 15 minutes. They changed things around at half-time, bringing on Chatham loanee midfielder Malachi Mbogba, but saw Moatsiders frontman Gil Carvalho gifted his second and Merstham’s third goal shortly before the hour.

“We’ve started slowly in quite a few games this year,” conceded Coyle.

“It’s something we are addressing as a group.

“But at 2-0 at half-time, we were making changes in our shape - and one of our players passes it straight to Gil Carvalho, who scores. It knocked the stuffing out of us.

“Unfortunately, we have made so many individual mistakes this year that have led to goals.

“We have to find a level of consistency where we can rely on individuals, as well as the group. We cannot keep giving teams a leg up.

“The management team are working so hard. We were missing some key individuals on Saturday in Olu (Olumide Oluwatimilehin), Connor Wilkins, Lewis Chambers and Jake McIntyre, who are proven winners.

“That makes a massive difference, not just on the pitch, but to the group. But it’s an opportunity for other players to step up.

“Ultimately, we’re in one of the play-off positions - and we still haven’t played well yet! We have not hit the levels that we’re capable of hitting.

“A lot of clubs are suffering with these issues. We definitely need to improve defensively and stop giving silly goals away.

"If we do that, I think we’ll be absolutely fine.”

To make matters worse, Gate had defender David Adewoju sent off late on, a decision by referee Josh Williams that Coyle had no complaints with.

Coyle, who will be without Adewoju and fellow defender Finn O’Mara for this Saturday’s trip to Crowborough, said: “That didn’t impact the end result or the performance.

“It was two bookable offences. Sometimes, you can look to blame officials for that level of result but I actually thought he was good.

“He deserved the two bookings but David’s still very young and learning the game so that’s going to happen.

“There’s a lot more that we need to work on in terms of our general defensive responsibilities than just that.

“Seven days is a long time in football and it’s only last week we were talking about a great result against Croydon. We followed that up with a good performance against Hastings.

“All of a sudden, we got brought back down to earth on Saturday. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

“We’ve been on the phone, talking to scouts and agents. We have got two defenders suspended on Saturday in Finn O’Mara and David, but we’ve been looking for another centre-half since pre-season.

“We’ll need to look before Saturday to see who is available but I see that as a positive to see what else we’ve got.”

Gate will host Faversham Town on Tuesday.